A Stain in Time
by Comic Critic
Summary: Hermione did it. She had escaped. What did she escape to though? She was the brightest witch of her age. A survivor of war. Or, was she just a stain in another time? (Re-Written) (New Title - Broken)
1. Chapter 1

**Alright. This was an idea just swimming around in my head and I thought I'd share. I don't want to give away anything. So, I'll just say that this is a tragically broken Hermione becoming a key piece in the Winchester family. You will laugh, you will be distressed, you will be frustrated, but I promise it's a good story! So, read and make sure to Review. ENJOY!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Supernatural! (I will not repeat this because the fact it blaringly obvious)**

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 **Chapter 1**

Hermione was not alright. After the war had been lost, Hermione had been captured. Used as a chew toy for the Death Eaters. She was tortured mentally and physically for those two years. She learned that patience was key. All she needed to do was wait for opportunities to make life better. She worked on wandless magic as well as she could in chains. It took time. She also taught herself mind arts. It took her one whole year to make a mindscape, lock her memories away and protect them. The learning took time. Hermione never thought she would get free, but the magical world began to collapse. They had less guards to watch her and that meant more opportunities to escape. At first, her mind told her it was hopeless. She had been blocked from using major magic and she was always restraint.

The guards came to taunt her one night and she sneakily summoned a small blade from his belt. The idiot didn't even notice. That began her escape plan. In school, she had taken an interest in ancient runes. She knew of some pretty powerful ones. So, she schemed. Hermione began to slowly carve runes into her skin. It was painful, but she was used to the pain. She carved rows of runes into her arms and legs for two days. She even managed to use magic to get some ruins on her back, She lost a lot of blood, but it was a price she was willing to pay.

When she was finally taken out of her cell for "play time," she put her plan into action. She was tortured in ten different ways, just for the hell of it. Finally, once she absorbed enough of that cursed magic sent her way, she began to chant.

She chanted the words she had been practicing over and over, " _Rigidum meum infernum. Áuferant eam. Rigidum meum simul. Áuferant eam. Delere horror. Áuferant eam!"_ The runes she had carved into her skin glowed bright white light. With one last chant, she was gone. It was extremely painful. All she heard were outraged and confused screams. She didn't quite pay attention to that fact as she was hurled through time and space.

It clattered her mind up a bit. Well, it clattered everything up a bit. She landed like a meteor crashing into the earth. It hurt, but didn't kill. Hermione was then sure that every bone in her body was broken at least six times over. She laid there, still conscious somehow. She was found though. Eventually, she was found.

It looked to be two hunters. The helped her bleeding stop in some places, but couldn't help in other places. They yelled and swore a lot. Saying that she shouldn't even be alive. They called over some friends and they lifted her carefully to a truck and quickly drove her to the nearest hospital.

They arrived in a panic and she was just in searing pain. Everything hurt. Absolutely everything. When she was taken in on a stretcher, even the doctors looked sick at the sight of her. Most of them were amazed that she was still conscious. They put her under and off to surgery she went. She was in surgery for hours and the hunters that took her to the hospital told them what had happened. Later on, she would find that they were a kindly couple named Sue and Henry. They visited her when she was recovering.

In total, her injuries consisted of almost every bone in her body having been broken. She had to have a blood transfusion due to the extreme amount of blood loss. She had gashes galore and to add to everything else, her head had been cracked open. There was also the details of internal bleeding, some organ failure and oh yes, diagnosis of severe mental issues.

In the first week of recovery, she wasn't awake. Her vitals were fine and she was stable, but her malnourished form was extremely concerning. She awoke on the second week and as soon as she awoke, they could tell something was wrong with her psychological state. She had nightmares, hallucinations, fits of rage, as well as staring at nothing for hours. There were moments when she was completely sane, but even then her words were barmy. She spoke of things that they didn't have a clue as to what they were and it was concerning. After a while, she didn't need the IV any more. That was progress.

It was a long while later when some of her stitches were taken out, but she still had much healing to go. She had a hallucination that really wasn't a hallucination. In the middle of the night when she should have been sleeping, a flutter was heard in the corner of the room. It was like giant eagle wings slapping the wind. When Hermione looked into the corner, she saw something that would change things. There stood a man, dressed formally. He wore a tan trench coat and a nice suit underneath. His slacks were wrinkle free and his blue tie was perfectly placed. His eyes were an icey blue that could chill your very soul. His black hair had a wave to it. He looked strong. Stood strong. The thing she noticed the most, the wings. They were large and absolutely stunning in her eyes. They looked to be stained black. Obviously not their original color with the marks on them.

The man walked over to her and he tilted his head. She tilted her right back. His wings ruffled slightly as he muttered, "Interesting."

She instantly replied, "Interesting how?" He looked at her startled, but she didn't seem to notice. Hermione was too busy staring at his wings.

She breathed out, "Beautiful." The man looked at her confused and as if remembering something, he nodded.

"My name is Castiel and I am an Angel if the Lord."

Hermione sat up straight, not confused about him being an angel, and said in the same tone, "My name is Hermione and I am a Witch of London."

The two stared at eachother until Castiel stated to her, "I was sent to watch over you."

Hermione nodded, looking around the room dazedly. "Mmmhmmm." She looked at him again and smiled in an almost knowing way.

"Curiosity, Castiel. Curiosity." The Angel had no clue as to what she was saying, but he took it anyways. Before anything else could happen, he disappeared with a flapping of his wings.

Hermione stared at that spot for a while and just thought about everything she knew about Angels. She found that her knowledge wasn't that extensive on the subject. So, when morning arrived, her nurse came in and Hermione asked her, "Can I have a bible?" The nurse looked a bit startled to be honest.

She eventually smiled and asked, "May I ask why?" Hermione looked away from the nurse and looked to where Castiel was standing the other night.

"Because my angel came to visit and I want to know more about him." The nurse sighed and went off to ask for a bible for her. It seemed like no matter what happened to her, some things would always be the same. Like, her love of research.

When Hermione was given her bible, she dove into reading it. She eventually started taking notes just to understand it better and learned many things of angels, heaven, hell and all that. So far, her favorite section would have to be Exodus. She didn't know why. Just that it always caught her interest.

The doctors told her that she was getting better, but for the remainder of her recovery, they were sending her somewhere. Someplace called Glenwood Springs Psychiatric Hospital in Ketchum, Oklahoma. Hermione was smart. She knew that Glenwood springs was a crazy house. No matter how many times the doctors insisted that she wasn't crazy.

Hermione still had her arm in a sling and her wounds were still wrapped. For some reason, some wounds wouldn't close. She guessed it was the cursed dagger.

She was sent to Glenwood two months after her initial emittance into the hospital. The ride there was extremely awkward for the person escorting her. She would look in the trees and just giggle randomly. He thought she was seeing things, but she was actually just extremely relieved to be out of that hospital room. She was just amazed that her life had become this.

When they reached the hospital, she was guided in by nurses that could do nothing, but smile. It kind of worried her a bit. Too much happy was always concerning. Hermione was lead to Doctor Aaron Fuller's office. He was an elderly man that seemed to smile softly. His hair was greying and his square glasses sat on the edge of his nose. He wore a white doctors coat and had clean and crisp cloths worn under. Hermione decided that she really didn't like him. He smiled at her brightly and told the nurse escorting her to be dismissed. He looked to her and said, "Have a seat." Hermione did so and looked around his office. It was boring. Even the knick-knacks were ordinary. He sat down at the desk and grabbed a notepad and asked her kindly, "I'm Dr. Fuller. What's your name?"

She answered, "Hermione."

"Just Hermione? No last name?"

"I can't tell you" she whispered.

"Why on earth not?"

"They may find me" she told him with as much importance as she could convey.

"Who will find you?"

"The dark witches and wizards. They may be looking for me!"

"Dark witches and wizards?"

"That's what I just said!"

"Hermione, you must know that these evil beings aren't real."

Hermione's anger flared. She slammed her fists on the desk and the doctor jumped. "Not real? _Not real?_ I wasn't tortured by imaginary people!"

Fuller straightened his glasses and decided to leave the subject. "Alright Hermione. Well, you need a last name, so can you think of one for me?" Hermione thought about it. She doubted that the Death Eaters could find her if she were using a dead person's name. They didn't even know the system. She couldn't use Granger though. She was too frightened to.

Too paranoid to. So, she said the only name that came to mind at the moment and that was, "Lovegood." It was a fitting name. Luna was a bit wacky and now Hermione was in the Looney bin. It was a bit poetic to her. Fuller raised an eyebrow at the strange name she picked, but wrote it on her files. They spent the next hour going back and forth between questions. It was decided that she would sleep alone and have a nurse standby for when her nightmares occurred. She wasn't to be allowed near any sharp objects because of her, "self harm" issue. She would be assigned private sessions and then go to group ones when her hallucinations were taken care of. Hermione just thought these people were insane.

She was sent for an overview of her health and when one of the doctors looked her over, Hermione swore that she could hear crying. The doctor was actually tearing up because of every angry scar and stitch. There were words carved into her everywhere. Mudblood, play thing, whore, bitch, scum, inferior, dirty. Name every hurtful insult, it was carved into her. And the runes on her body was gruesome as well. You could just tell that she did them to herself. When that ordeal was over, she was placed in a white outfit that made her look extremely tiny. They cut her hair so that it barely reached her shoulders. She did not give her consent for that.

Hermione was shown to her room and then all around the facility. The day room was last and there she was left to mingle. Hermione looked around and honestly believed that she was probably the most sane person there. It was a bit sad actually. There were people looking around nervously, muttering to themselves, talking to people that weren't there. Not everyone seemed to be completely bonkers though. Some were just sitting and rolling their eyes at the others.

Hermione decided to sit in a seat all by herself and read her bible. It was full of little notes in the margins and other things. She was just interested. Hermione hadn't seen Castiel in those months, but she wasn't worried. He said he would watch over her, not be her friend.

On the first night in Glenwood, Hermione couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned, but just ended up staring out of her barred windows. That is, until she heard a fluttering of wings. Hermione didn't turn around. She thought it was another one of her hallucinations. A voice sounded behind her. The same deep, almost gravely voice of Castiel. He asked, "You are doing well?" Hermione whipped around and looked at his almost nervous form. Well, he himself didn't look nervous, but she could tell because his wings were twitchy. Hermione nodded to him and offered for him to sit next to her. He did so carefully.

She asked him hesitantly, "You're not another one of my hallucinations are you?" He shook his head and they sat in silence. Hermione just enjoyed the company.

Hermione looked at his twitching wings and asked, "Why are you so nervous?"

He sighed and relaxed his wings. "I need to ask a favor of you." Hermione nodded and Castiel continued with, "One day, I will need your help. Would you help even if it meant endangering yourself?"

Hermione paused all movement. Help? Just like Harry needed her help. Just like Dumbledore needed her help. Just like her parents needed her help. Just like the Order needed her help. She was always screwed over and ended up pained in some way. Hermione knew that she couldn't refuse though. It was probably the only reason she was born. To save and help others even if it meant her continued tortured existence. Hermione looked at Castiel as he watched her curiously. "I will help." He looked a bit saddened almost. Whatever he needed must have been awful for him to want her to say no.

He reached in his pocket and pulled out a silver ring. It shone brightly with piercing bright magic. He put it on her ring finger while saying, "This is a melted down angel blade. When you are ready for your tasks, it will tell me. If you are in mortal danger, it will tell me." Hermione studied the ring and nodded. He got up from his seat, but she grabbed his hand before he could disappear. She then got up and hugged him. She didn't know why she did it. They had only met twice and all he did was give her a ring that was meant to tell him when she was ready to go on a task that would certainly kill her. He hesitantly hugged her back and she released him. He disappeared as soon as she let go.

Hermione slept peacefully that night. It was unexpected, but she was grateful. All she wanted was one night where her dreams weren't out to kill her and she got it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, Thanks for the reviews on the first chapters. I've decided to continue this. Please enjoy and more chapters are coming!**

 **Chapter 2**

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Hermione was at Glenwood for about two months and so far, no one would go near her. She had a breakdown in the cafeteria one day and the nurses had to hold her down and sedate her. What caused the breakdown was her thinking she could hear Bellatrix's taunting voice. It turned out that it was just a singing old lady. To say Hermione was embarrassed was an understatement. Sure, people before her must have had many breakdowns, but what made her different was the fact that she was begging for them not to hurt her and that she wouldn't tell them anything. Yeah, not many people did that as it turns out.

She had daily therapy sessions. Where she was sat down by a Doctor Warington as he tried to tell her that what she was imagining wasn't real. He finally just decided that she went through a traumatic experience and her mind was making the experience more unreal so she didn't have to believe that it was reality. Hermione knew that, that was a load of rubbish. It didn't even make sense. She didn't lie to them though. When they asked a question, she told it to them straight. Why? To hell if she knew.

Hermione was having a normal Wednesday morning in the day room, when she heard a loud scream. It scared her so much that a glass broke near her. No one noticed, they were all too busy trying to find out who screamed and what happened. Hermione was the first to push through the small group and look at what was going on. What was happening, was a patient going into their room to find their roommate dead. Hermione saw the blood. Looked like slit wrists. She stepped closer, even as the nurses got there. Even from where she was standing, she could tell that the woman didn't cut her own skin. The angles were off and she was tied down. Faint bruises were forming on her wrists by the cuts. Hermione tripped back and ran to her solitary room. She huddled in the corner in a ball and tried to get her panic down. That girl was murdered. She wasn't dead when she was killed either. It takes time for one to lose consciousness from blood loss with thin cuts like those. She suffered. She was tortured.

Hermione was so strung up in her panic that her magic was going out of control. Her bed sheets caught flame and the vase on her side table burst. She couldn't breath correctly. Knives. Torture. Murders. She was supposed to be safe there!

It took her a while to calm down. When she did, she fixed her bed and the vase. Hermione didn't leave her room though. Even in her room she felt unsafe. Lunch rolled around though and she was still trying to gain some weight back. So, she needed to eat.

Hermione went down to the cafeteria and looked at the occupants. Everyone looked just that much crazier. Whisperings about a monster were the main topics. Hermione gripped her lunch tray just thinking about the possibility. More monsters. Magical ones maybe? Mythical ones? Human? She didn't know. It was all making her nervous though. Hermione sat down at a lone table and tried to eat with her shaky hands.

A lady with a personality disorder of some kind was whispering loudly about how the monster was going to kill every last one of them. Hermione twitched violently and the lady's pudding exploded. It went everywhere. The lady was pretty frightened, as well were others. The janitor came and helped clean up the mess while the woman was taken to get cleaned up. Hermione finished her food with a sinking feeling that someone was watching her.

During the war, she had developed a severe case of paranoia that could rival even Moody's. Her paranoia was smarter though. She observed silently and waited to see if she was worried for nothing or something. When she turned around, she caught the eyes of a man named Martin. He was just a middle aged, skinny, minimum haired man that was suspicious of everything. She didn't know his diagnosis, but he constantly drew pictures of clowns. Every time her magic spazzed out, he was there to give her a glare. She didn't give in though. If he wanted to believe she could do magic, so be it. They were in a mental hospital, who would believe him?

She went to her scheduled session and was told that she could join the group sessions if she so wished. Hermione didn't want to, but it would be better than listening to this crack pot all the time. Her shrink had idiotic conspiracies about her condition and she believed he was writing a book of a file about everything she had wrong with her. Sometimes, she really wanted to punch him. Just square in the nose and tell him to back off. That, however, would get her sent to the padded room. She had only been there once. They strapped her down and that increased her ongoing hallucination of being tortured and held captive.

The week after her massive panic attack, she had tried to commit suicide herself. Hermione was a strong girl. She had been through so much, but she just couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel. She had transfigured her vase into a blade. With the blade, she impaled her heart. She felt the pain. She felt the blood. What she didn't feel was death. What she wanted to feel was the release of her life. It wasn't happening though. She tried it all. In a flurry of desperation, she strung herself up, but only hung there choking. She slit her own wrists, something she told herself she would never do. All she did was bleed. Bleed the red blood that was meant to be muddy. Hermione prayed for Castiel that night. Prayed for him to take her pain away. He never showed. That was the lowest point in her life. She spent a good long while thinking about what she had tried to do and didn't know if it was good or not that she was still breathing.

Hermione went to bed the night of the murder in a fit. She was frightened. She was twitchy, nervous and all around unwell. It almost made her want to apparate out of that place. Where would she go though? The answer to that was no where. She only belonged in one place and that was in the Loony Bin.

Castiel came to her that night. While she was having a minor nightmare. He watched for a minute and then touched her forehead. He sent good dreams to her and she calmed down. It made him feel awful, to watch her suffer. The truth was, the Angels wanted to watch her. She was powerful. They told him that she would be of service to them one day and needed to be watched. After going over her past, he volunteered. Like she said the day they met, he was curious. He wanted to know how such a girl with a good heart could be hurt so much. It confused him.

When he left, he couldn't forget his questions. He dare not ask them. Maybe one day, he would understand why humanity hurt so much. He had seen her the other week. She had tried to finish herself off, but something wouldn't let her. She tried hanging, stabbing, slicing. He watched in pain as she tried to die. He heard her gut wrenching prayers asking him to release her from her misery. He didn't know why she couldn't die, but it wasn't possible for her. All he wanted, was for her to have a peaceful night where she didn't have to hurt and that is what he gave her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Alrighty! Another chapter here! Thanks for the reviews and ENJOY!**

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 **Chapter 3**

Hermione was in the day room once again. She was reading the bible again. It was the only source of information she had. She knew that Castiel turned one of her nightmares into a wonderful dream. It was a dream where her friends were alive and her family loved her. She could just tell it wasn't real though. Castiel had made it for her. She knew why. She just didn't understand what made him want to give her some peace. The occurrence also got her thinking about how he could do such things and why did he care? What was his Angel purpose in life? It confused her. All of it.

Hermione was being watched carefully that morning. Martin would not stop staring at her. It was making her so nervous that the lights had already flickered twice and she was close to setting his drawings on fire. That is, until two new arrivals walked in the room. She studied both of them carefully. One was extremely tall with longer brown hair that fell to about chin length. He was built strong with tanned skin and a clean face. He was scoping out the room with blue-green eyes that spoke of a difficult life full of pain. The other man was a bit shorter than the other, but still tall. His hair was a dark blond that was pulled in a style that was cut close to his head, but not close enough to not be brushed into a style. He was broad, sturdy, and ready for anything. His green eyes told of horrors. Horrors that not anyone should experience.

They walked through the tables curiously and when one of them caught her eye, she looked away and continued to read her bible.

"Sam. Dean" they were called over. They looked past the table with the girl reading the bible and saw their fellow hunter, Martin. "Martin?" The man nodded and offered them seats. Dean, said to Martin in a halfway happy tone, "Good to see ya, Martin. How're you?"

Martin replied, "As good as I'll ever be. I'm glad you're here."

The two leaned forward and asked seriously, "So, tell us what's been going on?"

Martin went on to explain, "There have been suicides going around. I don't think they're suicides though. Patients are saying they're seeing a monster. I believe 'em." The two looked around.

Dean muttered, "yeah, they all look credible to me" as he watched a woman dance with an invisible partner.

Martin called his attention back and whispered even quieter, "there's a second case though." Sam sighed and motioned for him to continue.

"There's a patient here that has, well, strange things happen around her." This caught the brother's interest.

Dean asked, "what kind of strange things?"

Martin answered with, "If she gets a twitch, electronics short out for a second. If she gets angry, things catch fire. If she gets frightened or nervous, glass shatters. You see what I'm saying? We had to replace a window last week because she had a panic attack!" Dean looked stumped while Sam was trying to work it out.

Dean finally asked, "Who is she?" Martin discretely pointed to the girl reading the bible. Seeing her, they sort of doubted she was anything evil. She was small. Very small. Her hair was dark brown and hung in bushy curls. Her skin was almost sickly pale. There were dark bruises that shown clearly under her almost black colored eyes. She looked underfed and covered in scars. She looked to be the only one wearing a long sleeve shirt in the warm day room as well.

Sam turned back to Martin and asked, "Do you know her diagnosis?"

Martin scratched his head and replied, "I don't know exactly, but she has panic attacks, hallucinations, extreme nightmares from what I hear. Paranoia, trust issues and someone said she self harmed and has depression. Word is that she carved symbols all up her arms and other places. You can see one of them on her right hand." Dean whistled and Sam was almost cringing. This girl was seriously damaged.

Dean asked, "Her name?"

Martin answered with, "Hermione Lovegood." Dean peered at Sam for a second. It was a ridiculous name and sounded completely fake. Familiar somehow, but fake. Fake name meant secrets. So, it looked like they had two cases on their hands. Sam said, "we need to split up on this. Who takes the weird chick and who takes the monster?" Sam and Dean eyed each other before ultimately settling it with rock-paper-scissors. Dean lost, like usual, meaning he was on stalking crazy chick while Sam was on monster hunting duty.

Dr. Fuller came up to them with a smile saying, "ah! I'm glad you two are making friends. It's time for group session." The three got up, but Fuller told Dean, "Not you. You're relationship with your brother is unhealthily codependent. You will be having private therapy." Dean sighed almost angrily and sat back down. The doctor passed Hermione and said, "You too Miss Lovegood." She snapped her bible shut and followed the group, leaving her bible on the table. She was told to not carry it with her for some odd reason, but it didn't bother her overly. No one would dare steal it. The last time someone touched it got broken fingers. That one incident sent her to the padded room just last week.

Hermione followed Dr. Fuller while Dean looked at her bible curiously. It had notes sticking all out of it and was making him extremely curious. He looked at the occupants in the room and went over to the bible. He cracked it open and looked amazedly at the notes. There were writings in the margins and on the scraps of paper. Most were about one thing and that was angels. Why was she so interested in them?

Meanwhile, Sam and Martin were sitting in the group therapy session. One patient just got turned down for insisting that there was a monster getting all the patients. He could see how twitchy Hermione got when the man said that. Eventually, they moved past the monster incident and Fuller looked to Hermione. Who, honestly looked like she would rather be dead at the moment. Fuller asked, "So, Miss Lovegood. Do you have anything you want to share?"

She just looked at him with dead eyes and said, "Not particularly. No." Dr. Fuller sighed, but didn't relent.

"What about your thoughts of harming yourself. Is that getting any better since last session?" Sam could see her jaw clench.

She seemed to look at him with a mocking smile and say, "Oh, yes Dr. Fuller. I don't have any of those thoughts anymore. The sessions are really helping me cope in better ways." Fuller didn't seem to catch her mocking tone because he smiled brightly and looked at the group.

"See everyone! There is a chance for you to get better." The session continued in a lighter sense. Though, you could see that some of the patients were really frightened about the monster. The group session ended and everyone was dismissed. Hermione was the first one out of the room. She hated sitting through those sessions. The first things she did was go to get her bible. What she saw getting there though made her see red. There was the new guy sitting there. In _her_ spot. Reading _her_ bible. Hermione stomped up to him and slammed her fists on the table with unexpected strength. He jumped and she got very close to his face. A growl was ripped from her throat. She wasn't thinking clearly when she ground out, "I don't care what kind of mental problem you have. You do not touch _my_ things. This is _my_ seat. This is _my_ bible. Got it?" Every glass around her burst and she didn't even notice. Hermione snatched up the bible that he still had open and smacked him as hard as she could with it. One last glare was thrown his way before she stomped off.

Sam watched the whole thing in confusion and a bit of amusement. That girl had some serious anger issues. The glasses breaking? Sam could definitely see Martin's point about something not being natural about that. He approached his brother that was rubbing the forming bruise on his cheek. Dean swore under his breath and Sam tried to hold in a chuckle. Dean glared at Sam as he sat in front of his brother with wounded pride. "So, find anything in her bible?"

Dean quit glaring and whispered to him, "A lot actually. That whole thing is filled with notes on angels, the devil, hell, or heaven. One angel in particular was mentioned throughout the whole book. Guess who?" Sam raised an eyebrow and Dean continued, "Castiel."

Sam's eyes widened as he stuttered out, "Castiel? As in our Castiel?"

Dean nodded, "Most likely. I don't know any other angels named Castiel." That had them stumped. Why would this Hermione girl know anything about Castiel? Dean huffed and said, "Well. I guess that's what I need to figure out. I don't understand why paper beats rock." Sam chuckled and patted his shoulder. "Better luck next time."

They went through most of the day thinking about their plan of action. Sam wanted to go talk to Ted, the man who swore he saw the monster. He would have to wait until the evening though. Maybe Dean would come if his brother didn't have plans to follow the freaky bible chick.

Dean did actually have a plan though. He planned to sneak out and talk to her. Just a friendly little chat about why Castiel was written all over her bible. He didn't feel the need to sneak around things. There was no point to it.

So, the two told each other of their plans and then informed Martin. Martin thought it would be a good start to both cases. He did tell Dean to be careful with Hermione. She was fragile. A bomb waiting to go off. He agreed to be as careful as possible.

The rest of the day went on and evening fell upon them. They were assigned to get to their rooms, but Sam and Dean headed in opposite directions. Sam went to room 306 while Dean went to room 407. Her room was the very last on the hall. Dean snuck past nurses, orderlies and Dr. Fuller past him once. He finally reached her room and sighed in relief. That wasn't too much effort. Now, the hard part. Dean got down to pick the lock, but the door opened on its own. He swallowed and slowly walked into the room. The door slammed behind him and locked. He was seriously thinking she was a spirit that had forgotten it was dead.

There she was. Sitting on the bed and staring out the window. Hermione didn't turn to him as she asked, "May I help you?"

Dean walked up to her and stated, "I wanted to ask you a few questions." She patted the seat next to her and he hesitantly sat next to her. She was completely calm.

Dean cleared his throat and asked, "So, can you tell me what the hell you are?"

Hermione snorted and responded, "That's quite rude isn't it? Asking me what I am. If you must know I am a human being."

Dean readied his weapon of a knife he snagged from the kitchen before he came and said, "Yeah right, because human beings make things explode when they're angry."

Hermione looked at him straight in the eyes and told him calmly, "I am a human. Therefore, a human being. I explode things when I'm angry because I happen to have magic. Lately, my magic has been getting hard to contain."

Dean tightened his grip on his only weapon and he ground out, "Magic? As in a witch?"

She chuckled and whispered, "That is the technical term. Yes." Dean didn't think when he stabbed her with the blade. Her eyes widened, but she didn't fall. All Hermione did was pull the bloody blade out with a short gasp of pain. She chuckled. Looking at her blood almost insanely. She got up from the bed and looked out the window. She whispered painfully, "I've already tried." She turned to him and said, "I'm not allowed to die." Dean sat back, ready for a fight. All she did was pass him back the weapon and say, "I'm guessing you also came to ask about the bible notes." Dean didn't reply. He was just a bit stuck on the fact that he just stabbed her and she seemed perfectly at ease. He cleared his throat and asked, "How do you know Castiel?"

Hermione turned to him and responded seriously, "You may want to ask Castiel. I don't know the story he wants to tell you." She turned back to the window and stated clearly, "You need to leave." Dean was about to refuse and tell her to give him more answers. He stopped himself though. Instead, for once in his life he didn't pry. He left quietly and didn't plan on returning. The only person she seemed to want to hurt was herself and it looked like she couldn't. Dean could just see the pain swimming around in her eyes and that was not something he wanted to dig into. They would leave her alone for now.


	4. Chapter 4

**Alrighty! Progress! Now, please enjoy another chapter of one of my prouder crossovers. My favorite being "The Gift of Silence." ahhhh, anywho, ENJOY!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

Next morning, Sam told Dean that he had went to talk to Ted, only to find him hanging from the ceiling. They guessed that their next move was to check out dead Ted in the morgue. Dean told Sam of his encounter with Hermione. First, Sam was confused. Dean would have kept asking her questions and demand her answer because of what she could do was considered unnatural and she had clearly told him she was a witch.

Sam asked, "Why did you leave?"

Dean sighed and told him, "The way she spoke was just plain painful. When I stabbed her and she didn't even fall, she told me she had already tried. I just figured that if she was already trying to off herself, then what's the point in trying to find a way to kill her?" Sam nodded. He saw the perfect logic in that. When did Dean ever use logic?

Hermione watched the boys whisper from her table. For once, she wasn't reading her bible or thinking about Castiel. She was wondering why the boys were there. She was told their names were Alex and Eddie, but she heard them calling each other Sam and Dean on more than one occasion. She was guessing they were there about the murders. Why would they do that though?

The group sessions were cancelled for the day. So, she decided it was time to get some fresh air. Barely any of the patients used the gardens so it would be quiet enough. She decided to leave her bible on the table. She knew Dean would look through it again. Hermione didn't care, though. If it would satisfy his curiosity, then so be it. She caught Dean's eye and purposefully left the bible on the table and walked away.

She went to the garden where there was no fountain or anything fancy. Just a bunch of bright flowers and benches. She sat on the bench by the patch of marigolds. The air was fresh and the sun shown bright. The day was warm and since there was no one around, she pulled up her sleeves. It felt good to feel the sun.

Hermione heard a flutter beside her and a slight shift in weight on the bench. She didn't need to look to know it was Castiel. They sat next to each other silently. After a while, Hermione broke the calm silence and asked, "Who are they?"

Castiel sighed and answered, "Sam and Dean Winchester. They're hunters."

"Hunters?"

"They hunt the supernatural. Like ghosts, demons, vampires-"

"Witches."

"Yes. Witches as well."

"That's why he tried to stab me." Castiel nodded and the two settled back into their silence. This time, Castiel broke the silence by saying, "You're ready."

Hermione looked at him confused and asked, "Ready?"

"You are ready for the task I asked you to be apart of."

"How am I ready?"

"You have meet your task." Hermione mulled it over and the lightbulb went on. "My tasks have something to do with the Winchesters'?"

Castiel nodded and said to her, "What you agreed to was helping with was keeping the Winchesters' safe. I can't watch them all the time and things in heaven can get disorderly. We need someone powerful to help them at all costs." Hermione settled in her seat, feeling like the world's weight rested upon her shoulders once again. She would do the task, she already promised. It wasn't like she had anything better to do anyways. Staying in a mental hospital her whole life sounded awfully dull. What if she got out? There would be nothing for her. This place wasn't home. Her home was destroyed.

Hermione looked at Castiel again and asked, "How will I perform these tasks? They want to kill me not work with me." Castiel looked to be thinking about it as well. Looks like the angels didn't think everything through.

He finally said, "Help them hunt down the monster here. If they still don't trust you, follow them secretly. Protect them without them knowing. You have the power to." Hermione nodded slowly and thought about it. She could do it. A lonely life she would live, but it was possible. Some glamors, some expert magic. Also, some animagus wouldn't hurt.

While she was still in school, Hermione became extremely interested in Animagus. As soon as McGonagall showed the class her cat form, Hermione wanted to accomplish it. She did accomplish it in her fourth year. between the studying and helping Harry with the tournament, she had a lot of time on her hands to complete her transformation. When she did complete it, she was a bit stunned at what she transformed into. She was a large, black, wild cat. A panther she believed. It was a smart animal with good instincts. Protective and strong. She thought it fit.

Yes, a panther would be hard to hide in the daylight, but during the night, she could follow them with no problem. That is, only if they tried to kill her when she helped them take down this insane monster. Hermione sighed loudly and said to Castiel, "I will do it. Only because you asked nicely." He looked at her confused and she just patted his shoulder.

They sat out in the garden for a long while. Until lunch when he insisted that she go eat. She did as he said and Castiel left her. As soon as he left she remembered that she didn't ask him about how the angel knew the winchesters'. Oh well. She would find out some time.

Hermione went back inside to eat lunch and had a pretty enjoyable day. Closer to the evening, Hermione spotted the Winchesters heading off to the morgue. Her curiosity was piqued. What were they wanting with dead bodies?

So, Hermione followed them. Once they were in the morgue, she disillusioned herself and made sure that they couldn't see her. She snuck into the room and was fascinated to see them taking out the body of Ted. Ted looked, well….dead. Ha, Dead Ted. It rymed!

Hermione nearly smacked herself for thinking that. She focused on what the boys were doing and was a bit confused when they stuck a q-tip into the side of his head. It looked like it could touch the brain! She leaned forward and listened as Dean said he would stay and watch while Sam would crack open the skull.

After three minutes of watching Sam saw open a head in morbid fascination, Dean came back in warning him that someone was coming. Sam held up Ted's brain. It was shriveled like a raison! What on earth could have done that? Ted's brain was placed back inside of his head and the body was rolled away right when Nurse Kayla walked in. She looked surprised to see them.

She asked in a tone that one would use with a child, "What're you boys doing in here?" The two looked at each other, scrambling for a reason when Dean suddenly dropped his pants and said in the most ridiculous voice, "Pudding!" Hermione shielded her eyes from that sight and only felt it safe to look when the three had gone.

Hermione ended up back in her room, extremely curious as to what they were hunting. Something that could suck brains dry? That was a mystery to her. She went to sleep that night and had a normal amount of nightmares. All the same. The horrible torture or the war. All her dreams would be warped and darker than reality. She would actually _feel_ the pain of the blades slicing her skin. The one dream she could never decipher clearly was her escape. She saw herself glow a bright white light from the carved symbols in her skin and disappear from sight. It wasn't just poofing out of existence though. Her skin was literally torn from her and disappeared piece by piece. She didn't remember that though. Something just wasn't right.

The next morning, Hermione didn't see the brothers. She followed her regular morning routine and sat in the day room with her bible. She felt something off. The air felt….different. Like something was changing. Hermione went on with her day, though.

Everything began to get interesting when 'Eddie' stood in the corner of the day room and watched everyone pass through the mirror. What was he up to? Hermione watched him as he stood. Dr. Cartwright walked up to him and they began to chat. Now, Hermione could hear well, but man did people mumble. What she did catch was wraith, hunting, carrying the weight of the world and blah blah blah angst. She paused at the wraith part. Wraiths? Wow. Those were in her old textbooks that she no longer had. They were nasty things with a sizzling reaction to silver. They learned it all in defense. Nasty faces they had. Well, only when revealed by a mirror. Oh! A wraith? A wraith was killing the patients! Well, it made sense. Who the hell would believe a mental patient when they said they were seeing a monster.

Hermione walked passed him to pass his mirror test and heard him pause. Dr. Fuller walked passed and gave her a quick smile. All she did was keep a straight face. She really hated that doctor.

At night, she decided that it was time for her to sneak out and see what was up with the Winchesters. She heard them. After hours without protection. Bad news too. Orderlies were heading straight their way.

Hermione sighed and whispered, "Let the protection tasks begin." She walked up behind the orderlies and touched the back of their heads. She influenced ter simple minds and told them to walk the other way and tell the other people in the West and East wing to go to an emergency in 407. They quickly ran to do her bidding and she smirked. It felt good. Yes, a bit evil, but she needed to let off this steam.

Hermione watched as one of the patients named Wendy walked up to Sam and kissed him. Pretty little whore. Hermione hated Wendy. Especially because she tried to make-out with Hermione as well. It was a very unpleasant experience. She watched as the group of three became two. Sam and Dean split up while it looked like Martin made up his mind and followed Dean. Hermione then decided to follow Sam. She really couldn't let the oaf murder someone who didn't need to be murdered. Wraiths messed with your head. They could influence you to see things. They enhanced your mental problems. If you were afraid of spiders, they would make you see spiders everywhere. Spiders…..Ron….Ugh! No time for sad memories.

Hermione walked around the corner to see Sam charging at Dr. Fuller. Hermione instantly went into action. She knew Fuller wasn't a wraith. She had seen him in the mirror that used to be on his wall. She broke it out of frustration two weeks ago.

Hermione pounced on Sam and the giant lost his balance, falling to the ground. Hermione yelled to Dr. Fuller as Sam was getting up, "Go!" The Doctor didn't need anymore convincing. The man ran like hell to get Orderlies.

Sam went to run back to get Fuller, but Hermione just made an invisible rope to trip him up. Sam growled and accused, "You're helping the wraith! What you told Dean is a bunch of crap! You're just a witch. A monster. Monsters don't deserve to live!" Hermione could see what was going on. His rage was off the charts! The wraith must be screwing with him. She definitely couldn't calm him down. He most likely wouldn't listen to reason either. Too much anger. So, she chose a different approach.

She ducked as Sam swung his silver weapon at her. Hermione used her next best weapon. Hitting people where it hurt most. Verbally. Hermione said with a sickly smile, "I don't deserve to live because I'm a witch, Sammy? Well, I should murder you and Dean right now than shouldn't I?" She threw a strong punch to his jaw and he stumbled, looking at her confused.

Hermione walked up to him and kicked him down. "You and Dean murder. I bet you've killed many people that were good and wanting to be saved because of what they were!" She kicked his side again and he began to crumple. The weight of her words were becoming too much.

"How many lives have you taken, Sammy? Unintentional or intentional. All the same! Murderers are monsters!"

She snatched the envelope opener and held it at his neck while it transformed into a real blade. "Monsters don't deserve to live, Sammy! Why do you think I tried to kill myself!"

Things started to slow down and Sam looked at her wide eyed as she did the same back to him. She…...she finally said it. She admitted the reason she wanted herself dead. She felt herself a monster. No better than a wraith. She killed for a good side, but that side lost. How many were in the ministry when they paraded through it to grab the horcrux? How many innocent lives did they take in the battle? How many fell in the battle of magic that caused the muggle world to experience earthquakes and tidal waves? So. Many. Lives.

Hermione looked to Sammy and saw the same look. He had killed in the name of light, but what did it matter? They still murdered. Monsters. Hermione dropped the knife that shifted back to a letter opener and helped Sammy up. His rage was calm and that was exactly what she needed to let off steam. Hermione looked to Sam as the orderlies came to take him away. Before he left though, he asked her, "Fuller wasn't a wraith was he?" Hermione shook her head and Sam went with the orderlies willingly.

Hermione went to her room and didn't bother with anything else. She just needed to be alone while they drugged up Sam. Dr. Fuller would probably be in to thank her, but she just needed some time. Maybe not alone. What she really wanted was good hug and for someone to tell her she wasn't a monster. She _needed_ it.

Hermione walked in her room and was surprised to see Castiel.

He slowly walked up to her and said softly, "I saw what happened." She felt tears slip down her cheeks. She felt so helpless. So lost. She hadn't even started her tasks fully and she was already failing.

Hermione told Castiel brokenly, "I don't think I'm ready, Cas."

He shook his head and put his hands on her shoulders. "You can do it Hermione. I've heard many stories of your brave deeds and how you stayed strong. You'll get through this." She broke down and hugged Castiel tightly. He didn't turn her away. He just hugged her back.

Hermione was a mess. She didn't know what to think. One moment she strong and sarcastic. The next she's an angry mess. Then, she's crying all over the trench coated angel. Everything about her was just scrambled. Castiel lead her to the bed when her crying ceased and sat her down. He knelt in front of her and wiped her tears away.

He told her what she really wanted to hear. "Hermione, you're not a monster." She sucked in a breath and forced herself not to cry. Enough crying. Castiel was probably so confused on what was happening. Angels didn't deal with crying girls.

She nodded to the angel and told him, "I'll try and believe it for myself."

He smiled a small smile at her and told her, "Try is all I ask of you." Castiel then softly told her to go to bed. She laid down and he covered her up. Hermione closed her eyes and no dreams came her way. Just a peaceful slumber.

It seemed like the next morning, she was allowed to sleep in. She woke up sometime around afternoon to find that all patients were required to stay in their rooms for the time being. Due to the fact that a patient went awol and began attacking other patients. Befor Dr. Fuller could come to her room and chat with her about saving his life, she snuck out.

As soon as she awoke, Hermione had a bad feeling. Hermione listened to her gut feeling. The way Sam was acting yesterday due to the wraith was just a warm up. The crazy would progress until the brain was ripe for the drinking. It looked like the monster was targeting Sam and Dean. Hermione walked to Sam's room and found him not there. That must mean he was in those damned padded cells.

Hermione didn't bother to go there. She went to Dean's room instead. There, she found nothing, but a ripped picture of a wraith. Oh, wraith. Protection. Good. Hermione grabbed the paper and transfigured it into a silver blade.

Next, Martin's room. How she remembered all of this, she would never know. Well, Hermione came up to that room, only to find it empty too. Where the hell could they be? That's when she heard a scream. Hermione sprinted towards the scream and kept going. It was on the other side of the facility! She wouldn't have heard if she didn't have her freaking panther hearing. Man, could those wild cats hear! Hermione was shaken out of her thoughts by a haggard looking Dean stumbling into her. He looked at her and instantly got off. It looked like he was having trouble, so she helped him up. First, she placed her magic made blade in his hand. Then, Hermione helped Dean to wherever the hell he was going.'

He looked to her and asked, "What are you doing?"

She huffed and said, "Helping you hunt a wraith genius! Now, shut up and put your marbles back in their bag." He just looked forward and they reached their destination. Hermione threw open the door with her magic and pushed Dean in. Kayla. Nurse Kayla was the wraith? Hermione knew someone couldn't be that happy!

Kayla stood up and smiled mockingly. "Do you really think you're going to win this?"

Dean took out the silver blade and said in a distracted yet focused voice, "I'm already crazy. So, what the hell?" Hermione smiled at his words. That was one tough cookie.

Hermione jumped into the fight as Dean was thrown to the ground. He needed time to get back up. So, Hermione jumped the wraith and held her to the ground as she squirmed. Wraith strength was no match for Animagus.

Hermione smiled ferally and said in a frightening tone, "Wraith against two hunters and a witch. Who will win?"

The wraith screamed and threw Hermione off, pinning her to the ground. "Oh, sugar, you're just a bag of crazy. Perfectly delectable." A long bone spike came out of the wraiths wrist and Hermione panicked. Flashes of torture and the present moment in time blurred. Kayla became Bellatrix and Hermione screamed in absolute rage. She blasted the hallucination/wraith off with magic and she hit the padded wall. Hermione summoned the blade that Dean was holding and held it to Bellatrix.

"Wrong hallucination. You don't know how long I've been waiting to kill this bitch." Hermione impaled he wraith and felt the blade pierce it's heart.

Hermione took out the blade and stabbed her one last time before the wraith fell. Bellatrix went away and Kayla was bloody on the ground. Hermione looked to the two staring brothers and rolled her eyes. She snapped her fingers and Sam's restraints were gone. The man got up and they all rushed to an exit. Hermione blasted them out with extra force because hell, she was never going back. She followed them to their car and both turned to her.

She held up her hands and said, "I don't plan on hitching a ride. Just, get out of here."

Sam got in the car, but Dean stayed for a second and asked, "If we see you again, will I have to bring out my witch killing kit?"

Hermione didn't hesitate when smirking and saying, "Depends on what your hunting that day."

Hermione ran off into the trees that surrounded the place. She was free! It felt good. So extremely good! One thing she had to do was go for the best run of her life. The only way to do that was in her panther form. So, she transformed. Her body painlessly shifting into her animal. She roared her wild cat sound and ran through the dark trees. Hell, she already placed a tracer on the brothers. No need to rush her mission.

Two things Hermione didn't notice while she was reveling in her freedom. The trench coated angel holding her bible, watching her with a smile and the difference in the magic that was in the air. Both, were important things to miss.


	5. Chapter 5

**It's been a while, but recently I've gotten sucked into the world of Criminal Minds. Trust me, I'm already planning a fic for Hermione to interact with the BAU. Anywho, ENJOY!**

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 **Chapter 5**

Eventually, Hermione came off of her freedom high and got serious. She worked on tracking the Winchesters who never seemed to quit moving. Except for when they were staying in rubbish motels that made her cell in Riddle Manor look like a paradise. She was never seen, though.

Castiel eventually caught up with her and gave her, her bible back. It was a comfort she sorely missed. Castiel sat her down and they talked about her mission. She was to only interfere in the Winchester's lives if she felt it necessary. Hermione had good judgement. He trusted she would make the right calls.

After that, she stole some clothes. Money didnt grow on trees and she _did_ just get out of a mental hospital. The people in the store looked so confused at seeing what she was wearing. Hermione decided a thrift store would be best. Easier to steal from. She ended up putting on dark blue jeans, black leather combat boots that she made sure we're easy to run in, and a long sleeved black shirt that allowed movement. She charmed everything to stay sturdy enough so it wouldn't wear down. She had to wear them a lot. Hermione was heading out of the store under a disillusionment charm when she saw an arrival of clothing she just had to have. A black leather jacket with deep pockets on the inside and out. It was a little worn, but mostly new. She hadn't had a reliable jacket in a while. This one looked durable. She knew it was unnecessary, but she wanted it. When was the last time she spoiled herself? The answer was somewhere around four years ago.

So, she quickly duplicated the jacket and took the real one. The duplicate would disappear in about two days. She smiled wickedly and slipped on the jacket. It fit perfectly! Totally worth it. Hermione wasn't one for fashion, but leather jackets were a necessity for her.

Hermione took a few days to get herself sorted. She got a book bag that she magically enlarged to fit anything she would ever need. If she really wanted to stretch the limits of magic, she could make it big enough for her to actually sleep in. Since she didn't feel like getting caught in an alternate dimension if she screwed up, she just made it big enough for supplies.

Next, she was going to get potion ingredients for healing when she remembered that she healed quick enough on her own. Adding to that, she couldn't die. Still bummed about that one. Despite all that, she picked up bandages, some headache medication because she was surely going to need it when dealing with those two boys, and a few herbs that she knew helped pain. Despite her healing quicker, she still felt the pain of every wound.

Hermione was ready to follow the boys to who knows where when she realized that she couldn't apparate in this place. She had no clue as to what was where and where was what. It made her swear and want to call her angel. She didn't. Hermione sucked it up and started walking. When it turned night, she would use her Animagus. For now, she went the hard way. Hermione couldn't bother Castiel every time she needed something. That would be selfish.

The time walking allowed her to think. When she was emitted into Glenwood, everything was a bit scrambled for her. Since getting out, she could see clearer. To be honest, she believed that being in a nut house made her more crazy. Still, she didn't know if she was still a bit crazy. It all depended on what her mind deemed reality. So far, nothing out of the ordinary.

In her newfound clarity, she felt the magic around her. It was….different to say the least. It sounded strange, but that's what it felt like to her. New and unfamiliar. It scared her and Hermione just knew that it would bite her in the ass later. For now, she needed to focus.

Hermione followed her tracking charm for the rest of the day until she had to get something to eat. That made her excited. Then, Hermione remembered that she stole everything she was carrying and the reason for that was because she was broke. She sighed and looked around. She could just pickpocket. That would be simple. Hermione had gotten very good at it when she was a child. Those kids at school never got their school supplies back.

She looked for a person that seemed to be well off. Suit, shined shoes, designer clothing. Anything to go by really. She found just a man walking right past her. Hermione made a quick grab and remembered him as he walked away. She opened the fat leather wallet and found plenty of money in there. Hermione then grabbed fifty dollars and vanished the wallet back to the man's pocket. Well, that was easy.

Hermione was used to using pounds, not American dollars. She did know how the system worked though. So, she picked any random restaurant in the area.

Smelled good. Very good. It looked to be a bar and that was good too. She could go for a drink. Hermione sat down at one of the booths. She was approached by a waitress that looked to be in her twenties and honestly didn't want to be there. "Welcome to Stanz, what would you like?"

Hermione didn't look on the menu when ordering, "A greasy burger and good chips, uh, fries. A glass of water and a strong shot of anything." The lady nodded and walked away. Hermione had to get used to the American words. Even with all the American accents around her, she never lost her proud english one. Well, it was dimmed a bit, but whatever.

Hermione received her food and was almost drooling by just the smell of it. She smiled at the waitress and said to her, "This smells so much better than Glenwood's food." The waitress paused and then walked away quickly. Hermione didn't notice and dug into her meal. She ate every bit of it. The last thing she did before leaving the money on the table was take a shot of her strong alcohol. When she left, she wished more than anything that she had some firewhiskey.

Hermione noticed the sun beginning to fall and sighed in relief. Finally, she could get some distance! She didn't even know where she was. Well, still close enough to Glenwood, but not in the same area. Wow, she needed to get moving.

Hermione walked and walked until it finally began to get dark enough. Sometime then, Castiel appeared next to her and she jumped in surprise. "You can't just do that to people, Cas!"

He looked at her confused and asked, "Do what?"

She sighed and waved it away. "Never mind. What do you need?"

He glanced away and told her, "I'll be away for a little while."

"Winchester mission?"

"Yes, actually. We're going to the past."

"The past? Cas, I don't know anything about angels, but if your magic is anything like mine, that trip is too taxing."

"Yes, I know. It needs to happen, though. Much worse is at stake than me."

"I would disagree, but it sounds like you're on a tight schedule. So, do you need me to help with anything?"

Castiel shook his head and told her, "I just wanted to make sure you knew."

Hermione nodded and then asked Castiel before he left, "Can you atleast take me to the hotel you're staying in? I'm about a week behind you." Castiel nodded and touched her shoulder. When Hermione next opened her eyes, she was aware that they were in an abandoned alley. She was also aware of the extreme nauciousness she was feeling. After eating a meal of grease and alcohol, she was not ready for that. Castiel put a soft hand on her shoulder and she was instantly feeling better. Hermione straightened herself up and gave a small smile to Castiel. He didn't return it and just disappeared.

Hermione shrugged and just remembered that once again, she was broke. That meant sneaking into an empty room would be her only option at the moment. Well, that or sleep in the alley and she was _not_ doing that. Hermione walked in the front doors and walked right up to the front desk. The man behind the counter asked, "What can I do ya for?"

She smiled politely and responded, "I'd like one room please. Single. For a….Melanie London." The name came from absolutely nowhere.

He put it in and asked, "Cash or credit?"

She leaned in a bit further and let her magic reach into the man's mind. "Neither. Infact, I paid you extra to never speak of this encounter. Alright?" The man nodded with a blank face and handed her a key for her room. She snapped out of his head and he gave her a secretive wink. Well, her influence must have worked. She just hoped he didn't check the cash register for his hush money. Hermione was always gifted in mind games.

Hermione walked into her room, threw off her bag, and plopped onto the bed. It was actually a decent room. No funky odors or weird stains. Now, all she had to do was wait. Wait and be lost in her thoughts.

Castiel had told her of the Winchester's adventures. Mother killed by a demon, raised as hunters, Sam's girlfriend killed by the same demon, eventually killed that yellow-eyed demon with the colt, opened the gates of hell, released a ton of demons, and then Dean went to hell. Freaking went to hell! That's not all though. Sam broke the last seal keeping Lucifer in his mystic cage by chugging demon blood for his psychic abilities which he got as a baby from drinking the yellow-eyed demon's blood and killing Lilith. Hermione massaged her temples from the headache the thought was giving.

Now, Sam was Lucifer's vessel and Dean was Michael's. Hermione thought it was awfully ironic. Two brothers that love each other, but fight all the damn time.

The angels were after them and the demons were just sort of gone for the moment. Also, there was the four horsemen deal. The brothers already took out War. They had the thing's ring as well. Which, Hermione thought was a smart thing to do.

Oh, did she mention that the angels originally wanted her to help them defeat the damn devil? Yeah, Castiel was sent to make sure she met the Winchesters and helped Dean accept his role of Michael's sword. To hell with that! She was going to help take down Lucifer for sure, but she wasn't joining the side of the idiotic angel mess!

Hermione sighed and layed in a more comfortable position. She then fell into a fitful sleep. Her normal round of nightmares came, but she had stopped screaming a while ago. She expected the nightmares. You couldn't be scream worthy scared if you were expecting it.

Hermione slowly slid into a different dream. It was strange, abstract, yet vivid. She was surrounded by rolls and rolls of moving film. The air felt charged with the maximum amount of energy as it kept going and going. One on her left and the other one on her right. If she looked closer, the one on her right held memories of her time at Hogwarts. Of Harry and Ron and of everyone else. She tried to insert herself back into the film, but it didn't work. The film began to move into the scenes of the war and then her torture. Of every single moment.

After that, it went blank. She looked to the left to see that it showed the moments of her time in the hospital and Glenwood. There was her fight with Sam and her helping Dean face the wraith. Every moment after that. This film kept going. Horrible visions! It went too fast, but she saw a lot. Blood, tears, fire, and everything bad in the world. Hermione touched that film and she could enter it. In fact, she fell straight through it!

Hermione woke up in a screaming sweaty mess. She breathed in and out deeply. That was…..new. What did it mean though? It must mean something!

Or, it could just be her mind playing tricks on her again. No, it was too vivid. Hermione took a few moments to calm down and then cleaned herself up. She was way too worked up over a dream.

Hermione heard a thump from above her and a blast of energy. Hermione quickly threw on her jacket and her backpack. She got up to the room above her, but invisible. Yeah, it wasn't time to reveal that she was an extra body guard for the over protective twins. Hermione watched as Castiel was laid down not so gently on the bed with his nose bleeding. Hermione silently sighed and walked over to her angel and tried to heal him. Well, she could heal the vessel, but not the angel. He needed to replenish his grace. Hermione still didn't understand angels anatomy or even what the heck they looked like. Castiel told her that she would probably never know because the last time someone saw his true form, their eyes were burned out. Hermione had winced and told him that he didn't mean to do it.

That night, Hermione finally got to rest. The Winchester's rented another room and let Castiel sleep in that one. Hermione decided to stay with her angel. She got him comfortable with a snap of her fingers. Shoes off, trench coat off and tie undid. She knew he was an angel and didn't need any of it, but it was in her nature to care. Especially for someone she cared about extremely. She laid with him and fell asleep in complete peace. No Grace or Magic to assist her. It was just amazing.


	6. Chapter 6

**Another chapter you say? One with more Hermione and Cas? More Hermione protecting the Winchesters? Well, prepare to read that and more! ENJOY!**

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 **Chapter 6**

Hermione had followed the brothers to Sioux Falls after Castiel had gotten better. Cas didn't go with them, but said he would be in touch. Hermione had decided that her following the Winchesters as a secret bodyguard was insanely stupid. They had already seen her take down a wraith for them and Hermione was pretty sure that Sam and her were on some page of understanding. So, she told herself that on this mission of theirs, she would help them out in the open. No matter if they wanted her help or not. Hermione was stubborn like that.

It was a bit difficult to follow hunters in a car that drove on long stretches of road with no hiding places. She managed. Sometimes if she was late getting up, Castiel would help her catch up. Her stomach was slowly getting used to his angel teleportation.

Soon, they were all in the location of the case. She was about a day late, though. It was hard finding a shower in random towns! Anywho, when she got there, they had already investigated the case of the couple eating each other alive…...yuck.

Now, the two brothers went into the coroner's to look at a body. Hermione still didn't know the case for this trip, but she suspected it was violent if they were going to a coroner.

Hermione followed them in under her disillusionment charm and listened to what happened. The summary of this morgue trip turned out to be a couple committing suicide and one of them killing a man. That was awfully coincidental. Two couples killing each other only a day apart? Both very well rounded people if she read the files right.

Hermione and the brothers were left in the morgue by themselves and the two began in opening the refrigerated body parts. Hermione watched in a bit of curiosity as they almost casually handled the body parts.

Dean slid a heart over to Sam and asked mockingly, "Be my valentine?" Sam scoffed and took the organ. Suddenly, Sam picked up a heart and called Dean over.

"Look. There's something printed on here."

The two looked closer and Sam suddenly said, "Oh no."

"What?" Dean asked.

"I think this is Enochian."

"So, some angel's doing this?"

"Depends on what the symbol means." Hermione wracked her brain for the language Enochian. She couldn't remember it from anywhere! Maybe it was _just_ an angel thing then? Hermione saw Dean open his cell phone and call…..Cas? Castiel had a cell phone? Alright! She could take the fact that there was a language she had never heard of, but what she couldn't deal with was the fact that Castiel had a flipping cell phone.

Castiel appeared right in front of Dean, still with his phone up to his ear. He said into the speaker, "I'm here."

Dean, also in the same position about a foot from the angel responded, "I can see that."

They stared at eachother for a few more seconds before Castiel said, "I'm going to hang up now."

Dean responded, "That would be best." They both hung up their phones and Hermione wanted to slowly clap and commend them on the most awkward conversation of the century.

Castiel looked over to her and raised an eyebrow. A clear sign that was asking her if she wanted to be revealed yet. She shook her head and Castiel nodded.

The two hunters and the angel looked over the hearts. Sam passed Castiel a pair of gloves, but the Angel just picked up the heart and looked at the symbol. "Well, you are correct. It's Enochian."

Dean sighed almost angrily and asked for the second time in a span often minutes, "So, some angel's doing this?"

"Yes. Specifically a Cherub. A lower class of angel."

"Cherub?"

"You people call them Cupids."

"So, we're looking for a baby in a diaper with tiny wings?"

"They're not incompetent." The three quickly decided to go searching for the Cherub. Hermione was still trying to get over the fact that freaking Cupids were a real thing! There was just too much to this!

Hermione was going to follow them too, but she began to feel something. A small tugging on her conscience telling her what she needed. Hermione threw up her occlumency walls and shook her head. That was….odd. She just had the sudden urge to go and practice magic. Not just any magic….evil magic. The kind she specialized in while fighting the war. Her specialty was dark spells. Spells that could make a Death Eater quake with fear.

The problem with that magic is that it makes you angry and uncontrollable. It makes you seek revenge and destruction and she promised herself she would never return to her 'dark days'. While her mental training could help her control it for the most part, it still never helped her urges for tearing people apart if they even _looked_ at her wrong.

Hermione shook her head and decided that Castiel would well enough tell her what was going on. She would just have to take a walk and clear her head.

So, that's exactly what she did. Hermione took a long stroll and then a run in Panther form. She was tuckered out and slept on a park bench until about noon the next day. She did have that weird dream again which she really wished she could figure out.

When she awoke on a park bench, she was being intensely stared at by her black winged angel. Hermione groaned and told him, "5 more minutes, Cas."

He replied, "I don't think that bench is a good place to sleep."

Hermione finally sat up and looked at him sleepily, "Yeah, you're probably right." Hermione offered him the seat next to her and he sat. "So, what's the news on this case?"

Castiel sighed and replied, "This isn't a normal case. There are people everywhere giving in to their desires."

"And someone's desire is to eat their beloved?"

"Well, yes. That _is_ really strange, though."

"Indeed. Well, how did the Cupid thing work out?"

"We found him. He didn't do it. Dean scared him away by punching him."

"So, there's something wrong with Dean too?"

Castiel paused and nodded. Hermione looked at this case from another perspective. If it's not the Cherub's, then who? There were a lot of possibilities, but the only fact they had was that there were two couples that died in acts of love. Well, strangely co-dependent love. So, what could make people want to follow their deepest desires and manifest it?

Hermione never heard Castiel leave and come back, but she turned to him when she heard a wrapper being opened. Castiel, the angel that was never supposed to be hungry, was eating a burger. Right before her very eyes. He raised his eyebrow at her and asked, "What?"

Hermione choked and said, "Castiel, you're _eating_ a _burger._ "

He took another bite of the sandwich and asked, "So?" She snatched it away from him and he tried to get it back.

"Angels don't eat, Cas! Whatever is getting to these people is getting to you too!"

He paused and clarity came to his eyes. "You're right."

She took a bite of the burger and told him, "As always. Now, think, Cas. What is strong enough to make and Angel of the Lord crave red meat?"

Castiel's eyes widened as he said, "Famine." Hermione instantly knew what he meant. From reading the bible so much, she should have seen it sooner.

Hermione quoted somberly, "And then will come famine riding on a black stead. He will ride into the land of plenty and great will be the horseman's hunger, for he _is_ hunger."

Castiel continued, "His hunger will seep out and poison the air." The two looked at each other.

Hermione told Castiel, "You need to tell the brothers. When you have a plan, come and tell me. I'll be there to help." Castiel nodded and was about to take his burger back. She just held it out of reach and took another bite.

"Nuh uh, angels don't need burgers. Humans do. Go find another." He grumbled and then disappeared with a flap of wings. Hermione finished her burger and put on her jacket and backpack. She began to walk around trying to find anything that could point to one of the horsemen. Last time, the War horseman came in a red sports car. Like a red stead. So, since Famine rides a black stead, he used a black car. Not just any though. A particularly fancy one probably. Lots of people have fancy black cars! Hermione sighed and continued on down the street.

Then, she felt it again while passing a man in black suit briskly walking past her. The urge to throw a nasty dark curse that makes one's blood boil until the victim became burnt on the outside as well as inside. It's a nasty curse that's easy to fling out, but takes a lot of energy. It was good for getting rid of group attacks. Hermione shook her head and blinked. It was…..strange. She could almost _feel_ the blood boiling under her influence. It made her shiver in excitement. Once again, she pushed it back behind her Occlumency walls and then pushed it even deeper.

Well, no use in pretending it wasn't happening. Famine was slowly, but surely working his poison on her. She didn't hunger for dark magic, though? She knew that for a fact. So, what _did_ she hunger for? Control? Vengeance? A need to make people feel her pain? Any of those would do. She knew deep down that's what she wanted. Hermione scrubbed her face and continued on. She would be fine.

Later on, Castiel came to her and told her that him and Dean were going to take down Famine and wanted her to come. By that time, she was twitching to fling a curse or two. Castiel saw her struggle and was dealing with his own hunger. Seriously, he was on his twentieth burger. Hermione told him she would meet him at Biggerson's and that if he didn't teleport away, she would curse him. The angel got the message.

It was night when Hermione got to the restaurant. There was a familiar Chevy Impala parked with two people inside. One eating a burger and one looking…..empty. Hermione decided to just get the meet and greet over with. She snuck over to Castiel's window and knocked on it. The two looked over to her with wide eyes and the window was rolled down.

"Hermione?" She smiled and saluted him.

"Reporting for duty Captain! What are you two waiting for anyways?" Hermione snatched Cas's burger from him and used a stinging hex on him when he tried to get it back.

She pointed at him like a mother reprimanding her child and said for the second time that day, "No! Angel's don't need food. Humans do." Castiel crossed his arms and pouted. She took a bite of the burger and looked back at a very stunned Dean Winchester.

"What? He doesn't need the burger and I'm hungry!"

Dean shook his head and half shouted, "What are you doing here!?"

She took a bite of the burger and replied, "Well, I started as a secret bodyguard, but then I thought 'aw hell, they'll find out sometime. Better to get it over with.' So, I'm here to help you take down Famine before I cause a forest fire or something."

Dean raised an eyebrow at the forest fire part and told her, "I was planning to have Happy Meal over here go in, cut off Famine's fingers and high tail it out."

Hermione snorted and took another bite of the delicious burger. "That's if Cas can stay focused long enough. You do realize that Biggerson's is a _burger_ joint? A hunger our winged friend can't control?" Dean blinked and wanted to slap himself. That was all very true.

Hermione took a final bite of her burger and handed the rest to a Castiel who honestly seemed to be physically restraining himself to get more. He thanked her and began devouring the meet.

She sent a stinging hex at him again and told him sternly, "If you eat slower it'll last longer. Control!" He seemed to hear the logic in her words and ate slower. Hermione looked to Dean and told him, "I say, since you're the only one that doesn't seem to be affected, you head in and Castiel and I will be back up."

He nodded and then narrowed his eyes at her. "You seem perfectly fine as well." Hermione held up a shaking hand that whenever she flexed it, spouted sparks.

She told him, "I've been itching to turn someone inside out through their arse all day. So, if you don't get your rear in gear, I'll feed my hunger on you first." Despite popular belief, Dean knew when to get his ass moving. So, he got out of the car, grabbed a gun and his special knife and headed in there.

Hermione got Cas out of the car and said to him sternly, "You are not to enter that restaurant. Angel or not, you're vulnerable and virtually of no use. I'm going in because Dean is most likely going to fail." Castiel wasn't offended at all. He knew what she had said about him was true. Even while she spoke to him, his hunger for red meat grew. The thing he wasn't on board with was Hermione going in there by herself and risking being taken over by _her_ hunger. Which was a lot more nasty than just wanting some food. He knew her mental control was helping, but the dam would break.

He took her shoulder and said seriously, "Stay strong." She nodded and ran to almost certain doom.

Hermione was strategic and careful. She knew when to bust down doors and when to be sneaky. With her literally vibrating with the need to maim anyone, her control was a bit flawed. So, in un-Hermione like fashion she kicked down the locked front door and looked upon the chaos. Men clad in black suits made a barrier around a man that looked close to dying on the spot. His hunched posture, pale and wrinkled completion along with thin white hair, and the fact that he was in a wheelchair and had an oxygen tank helped the vision. She could feel her hunger grow as she spotted Dean being held up by two black suited men. Oh, they felt the need to hurt people did they? Then, she would would give them a world of hurt they wouldn't remember!

Her train of violent spells were paused by a voice saying, "Welcome, Miss Granger." She snapped her wide eyes to Famine and he smiled sickly at her. "Oh yes. I know all about you. I can see it through your hunger." She shut her eyes and growled. She realized that she wouldn't be able to do any harm to this crooked man. He was a horseman. A power way older and wiser than her.

He continued, "I can see what you crave, yet you stand strong in front of me. Unlike Mr. Winchester who stands in front of me with no effect because his lack of feeling."

Her eyes shot open and she asked, "Lack of feeling?"

Famine nodded with a twisted grin and replied, "People don't leave Hell unscathed. You should know that." Hermione growled and just absolutely _needed_ to destroy something. Hermione screamed in frustration and reached her hand towards one of the black suited men. She felt a little spark in her ignite. A spark that hadn't been lit in a while. She clenched her fist and her magic reached around the man's heart and promptly ripped it out of his chest and towards her. She made the organ stop in midair as the room looked around in shock at it. All were surprised at her power. All except Famine. He was planning on it.

Hermione shouted a Latin word and the heart exploded in a burst of flames. She was letting off pent up energy, but she still craved. Craved for everyone to feel the pain that she had felt. She wanted everyone to suffer.

Suddenly, there was a shift in power behind her. She swiveled around and saw Sam Winchester almost stomp into the room. He had blood stained around his mouth and she knew what he hungered for. She heard of his demon blood addiction and the powers it gave him.

Sam payed her no attention, but the two had the same goal in mind. Pay back. The downfall of their tormentor. Famine rolled closer to them and held out his hands, "This is just perfect! Did you get the snack I sent you?" Sam didn't answer. He only took a step forward. He wanted the demon blood. He wanted it all.

Famine told him, "Lucifer wanted you untouched. Though, you're hunger won't harm you. Drink it! Take the blood." Sam looked tempted. Oh so tempted, but with his power came anger and he wasn't angry at the demons. He was angry at Famine. He held up his hand and the demons paused. Their vessels began to empty of the souls. The dark misting black smoke emptied from their mouths and ran to the floor where a portal opened up. A portal to Hell.

Meanwhile, Hermione was itching. Itching and itching to hurt. So, when Famine devoured the souls and flicked Sam back to the wall with his power, she striked. Hermione knew that magic wouldn't kill this man, but virtually nothing would. The main thing was the ring and she needed it. The black magic threatening to be released wouldn't be that simple though. Famine needed to be punished.

She stepped forward and growled at the man, "You're a cold blooded force of nature. You need to be taught a lesson."

He laughed and told her, "I am a horseman! You are just a stain waiting to be wiped away! You have no power against me!" She let her magic lash out in an explosive effect.

She whispered as Famine paused, "You wear a vessel. You can feel it's pain." She turned up the heat. She felt his blood begin to boil under her influence. It made her excited. It made her feel powerful. To finally be able to hit back and not just take her punishment.

The man began to lift from his chair and she made a motion with both hands. He was slowly being pulled apart.

She laughed manically. "I won't be ridiculed any more! You _will_ feel my pain!" His hand was ripped off and he made an ungodly scream. Dean stumbled over from his shocked state and grabbed the ring from the finger. Hermione didn't notice though. She was watching the man burn and rip and feel it all.

Next, she ripped off his arm. Then, his leg. Insects began to eat away at his body when she shouted the word. She felt him try and get away, but it was no use. She craved his pain too much. His suffering was all she needed.

Suddenly, there were arms wrapped around her. She felt the comfort she was so familiar with. The arms that hugged her when she broke down and doubted her existence. She dropped the man who couldn't move at all from his injuries and appeared to be almost dead. With the ring removed, the horseman could only tuck tail and run. Which he did by teleporting out of there.

There was a whisper in her ear that told her softly, "Let it go." She felt tears slip from her eyes even as she still felt the evil magic wanting her to use it. It wanted her to blast Castiel away and it made her disgusted. She quickly turned around and clutched onto Castiel. He was the only one to ever keep her close to sane. The only one she truly felt completely trusting and safe with.

Castiel held her and tried to comfort her the best he could. Over this short amount of time with Hermione, he learned that all she ever truly needed was comfort. Someone to ground her so she didn't feel like she was going evil. He had learned to become that person and actually take pride in it. He considered her his one true friend next to the Winchesters and was glad he could be there to help her.

Meanwhile, Dean had stared at everything that had occurred in awe and fear. Hermione was truly a power to be reckoned with. She literally tore a horseman's hand off without even blinking. Then proceeded to rip him apart and other dastardly things.

The way she clutched onto Castiel was almost depressing. That such a strong girl could be so broken. He understood her pain. He was broken.

Dean could see plainly how Castiel cared for the girl. He was an angel of barely any emotion at all, but seemed to have a true soft spot for Hermione.

After everything had calmed down, Sam had been bound and ready to be transported for demon blood detox. Hermione had come along because Castiel refused to leave her or Dean alone. They drove to Bobby Singer's Salvage yard and got Sam to the bunker quickly.

Hermione had to say that she really liked Bobby Singer. He meet her with a face of holy water and a slash of a silver knife along with other monster detecting rituals. He didn't know of her magic at the moment, but that didn't really matter.

While Dean and Castiel were downstairs, Hermione took a look at all of Bobby's books. She asked the man, "What's a good one for beginning hunters?" He seemed to think about it. Removing his tattered cap and scratching the top of his head. He wheeled over and snatched a book from a shelf. His wheelchair prone self stopped in front of her and passed her the book.

"This is all on creatures and how to kill them. There are a lot more, but these are the basics." Hermione smiled and nodded. She cleared off a space on his cluttered couch. It was silent for a while. The only noise being Sam's screams, a ticking clock and pages turning.

Bobby suddenly asked her, "How did you meet the boys?"

Hermione smiled and told him, "I helped them take down a wraith at Glenwood Springs."

He raised an eyebrow and asked, "You were hunting it too?"

"No, I was a patient. For hallucinations, anger issues, depression, paranoia and many, many more things on a long list."

Bobby whistled and said, "And I thought Rufus was crazy." Hermione smiled and

Bobby asked, "How about Castiel?"

"He came to me while I was in the hospital. Told me he was my guardian angel. I still believe it's true." Bobby nodded and went back to what he was doing before.

Dean came stomping up the stairs and went outside. Hermione sighed. Dean was really struggling to stay afloat. The man was literally empty inside. Hermione closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of Sam's hoarse yells.

The couch beside her dipped and she knew it was Castiel. He asked her quietly, "Are you alright?" She began to nod, but then shook her head. She felt Castiel take her hand and she breathed a deep sigh.

Castiel said to her softly, "I never understood why physical contact made humans so comforted."

Hermione told him equally as quiet, "Some people are repulsed by human touch you know? I could never imagine living like that. I like the reassurance it gives. Telling you that there is still someone by your side and you're not alone." Castiel squeezed her hand and she smiled. He understood.

Hermione curled next to him and fell asleep. Her mind wasn't screwed back in yet, but she was exhausted. Castiel made her feel safe enough to sleep and for that, she was grateful.

The angel held her and let her sleep. They would worry about the horsemen more tomorrow. For now, they needed a break.


	7. Chapter 7

**Friends! Hello! Anyone else excited that Supernatural is going for season 12? Cuz I certainly am! So, in this chapter I went a bit overboard with the Hermione and Cas fluff. Yeah…..It's become an addiction. Anywho, I hope you still ENJOY!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

Hermione and the brothers had stayed at Bobby's for about a week. Sam was just getting over the demon blood being purged from his system. Hermione was trying to reign in her after effects of using such dark and twisted magic. Dean was coming to terms with the fact that he truly was broken. Castiel had come every night to sit by Hermione and let peace come to her. Sometimes they would just talk and other times he would help her sleep. It was becoming very clear to Bobby and the brothers that Castiel really doted on Hermione.

Hermione had told Bobby of her being a witch and that she was in no way meaning to harm him. He had almost shot her! Good thing Cas caught the bullet.

She explained to the oldened hunter, "I was born with my magic. It took me many years and hard work to control it." He accepted her answers and said that she would have to tell him about her magic sometime. He had never heard of her kind of magic.

That week, they were researching a chain of events just miles away from Bobby's home. There were electric storms and then a murder happened. Normal? No. The murderer was said to be a dead man. Fat lot of sense that made. Hermione thought Necromancy and if they were dealing with the four horsemen and two were out of commission, that left Death as the ultimate culprit. Strange.

Sam and Dean decided to check it out while Hermione stayed to help Bobby with research. She wanted to go with the brothers, but they told her that even with her hunting skills, they hadn't gotten her a fake ID or badges of any sort. They also said she needed to learn how to use their weapons. She couldn't go around flaunting magic everywhere. She needed to blend in.

Hermione agreed, but was still a bit sour about it. She and Bobby searched book after book and decided to take a break. She asked if nosing around the graveyard where the dead guy was buried would help. He told her it was a great place to start.

That was how they ended up searching for a gravestone in the middle of the night.

She asked Bobby, "What exactly are we looking for?"

He responded with, "If these folks are jumping from their graves then we need to find the guy's grave and see if it's dug up or replanted." Hermione nodded. They searched for his name on the information they got. It was a while before anything happened. They found the dead man's grave. Bobby made her dig it up. The coffin was smashed through. Hermione winced at the sight. What a perfectly good coffin to ruin. She had to mentally slap herself. It wasn't the time for coffin admiration.

She recovered the grave and sparsely planted it. They would have to tell the Winchester's.

They were walking back to the entrance when a voice spoke up behind them. "Bobby?" It was soft, feminine, full of confusion and relief. Hermione turned around with the shovel in a defensive stance in front of Bobby. There was a beautiful blonde woman behind them. Her hair was in loose blonde curls. She wore a yellow dress and a white apron. The woman honestly looked like a 50's housewife.

Hermione's frame blocked Bobby's view. She said threateningly, "Who are you?"

The woman held up her hands and asked, "Who are you?" Well…..shit. That put them at a standstill didn't it?

That is, until Bobby stated behind her in an amazed voice, "Karen?"

Hermione threw her shovel aside and shouted exasperated, "What am I missing here?" The two seemed to pay her no mind as they continued to stare at eachother. Well….awkward. Oh, just got more awkward. They were crying, and hugging. Hell, did Bobby just kiss her?

Hermione quickly bolted out of there and waited at the entrance with her shovel. She couldn't wait to get her hands on this juicy Soap Opera. Staying in a mental hospital got kind of boring. Well, Castiel helped amuse her. He played board games with her when she asked. People just thought she was playing games with herself.

Hermione came back to the present when Bobby and this woman Karen came out of the graveyard. "So, who's this lady?"

Bobby bristled and responded, "This _lady_ is my _wife._ " Hermione dropped the shovel and stood there silently.

"Wife? As in walk down the altar and kiss to seal the deal?" Karen nodded at her with a small smile.

"And who might you be?" Hermione was a bit worried. Dead people were showing up and now Bobby had a wife. Hermione would play along. She could be discrete and sneaky. Collect information without getting distrust from Bobby.

"Hermione. Sorry for, um, threatening you with a shovel. Bobby never told me he had a wife." Karen looked a bit down at that comment.

Hermione quickly said, "Though, I've only known him a few weeks. So, I'm sure it would come up sometime." Karen seemed to perk back up and Bobby gave her a grateful look. Hermione just shot him a glance that said they were going to have a long discussion about it.

The three got home in awkward silence and as soon as Karen stepped through the door, she went into the kitchen. Bobby was going to follow her, but Hermione wheeled him right back to her.

"I swear I will paralyze your arms next if you're not one hundred percent honest with me." The man seemed to droop a bit.

But he did explain, "Karen's my wife. That's it."

"Your _dead_ wife."

"How-"

"I put the pieces together old timer. I'm not an idiot."

"Fine! She's my dead wife. So what? She's back and she's not some zombie."

"Well how could you know?!"

"Back off, kid."

"I will not back off and let you get eaten alive!" Bobby growled and crossed his arms.

"I won't let that happen."

Hermione gently sighed and told him, "I just don't want you to get attached and end up having to go through her death a second time. I can end it. Fast and quick, she won't feel a thing." Bobby seemed to consider it, but eventually shook his head.

"I can take care of it if the time comes. For now, let me enjoy my time with her." Hermione slowly nodded.

"I'm staying."

He rolled his eyes and muttered, "Troublesome Mother Hen." Hermione chuckled and sat on the couch with a book. Time went by slowly as Bobby and Karen caught up. Hermione listened to the sweet sound of the woman humming in the kitchen. She could understand why Bobby loved her so much. Karen was just an unending ray of sunshine.

"What troubles you?" Hermione startled and fell off the couch. She was hastily helped up and was happy to see Castiel.

"We talked about that, Cas!" He held up his hands and slowly stepped back.

"Apologies." Hermione dusted herself off and sat back on the couch. She offered the seat next to her and Castiel sat.

"So, what is troubling you?"

Hermione sighed and told him, "Nothing Castiel. Don't worry yourself." He gave her a knowing look.

"You were staring at the same page for half an hour." Hermione groaned and dropped her head on the angel's shoulder.

"Nothing gets past you." When he didn't reply, she curled up closer to him. "It's this dream I keep having."

He shifted closer and asked, "Nightmare?"

"In a way. It's torturing to not know what it means. What it's trying to tell me."

Castiel nodded and asked, "Tell me." So, she did. She told him about the rolls of film and how she couldn't go back to her old life. How, the future in one film was so gory and sad. How that was the only film she could enter.

After it all, he just told her softly, "I'm not all knowing, Hermione. I think you need to figure this one out alone."

She whispered, "I was afraid you would say that." Instead of responding, he opened his wings wide and wrapped them around the two. It was the ultimate comfort.

"Thanks Cas." The two didn't see Karen watching them with a twinkle in her eye. Bobby rolled up behind his wife and asked what she was looking at.

Karen pointed to the two and without questioning how the man got in the house, she said, "You see that Bobby?"

He nodded and replied, "It looks like a headache waitin' to happen." The woman chuckled and walked away.

"It looks like the start of a beautiful love." Bobby cringed at the thought. It just seemed a bit strange to him. An angel and a witch. Though, he could see what his wife was talking about. They were close.

The next day, Castiel went away and the day went on. Karen didn't sleep. Expected for a zombie.

Bobby got a call and answered, "Agent Willis." Hermione perked up and finished the slice of apple pie Karen made special for her. To be honest, Hermione was a bit sad to see Karen go. The woman was sweet and made a mean pie. Bobby hung up the phone and called Hermione. She looked up to him.

He told her while wheeling up to the table, "Those boys have a gift for getting into bad situations." Hermione didn't question. She would find out soon enough. And find out she did. Bobby got a call early in the morning saying that he needed to pick up the Winchesters from a _holding cell._ It's like they asked for trouble.

He had slammed the phone down and shouted, "Hermione! C'mon. We need to pick up the idjits from friggin jail." Hermione nodded and slipped on her jacket. Karen came out of the kitchen with a face of curiosity.

"Going somewhere?"

Bobby softened towards her and said, "Some friends got in trouble. I need to bail 'em out." The woman nodded and left Bobby with a peck on the cheek. Hermione helped Bobby to the truck. While helping him in the back, she got a good whiff of him.

"Bobby, is that soap?"

"Shut it." Hermione just chuckled. They drove off with Bobby telling Hermione how to drive. She never got a chance to get her licence. She did read the book and go a few times with her father, but driving on the streets was a skill she didn't have.

After the second close call Bobby stated, "We are teaching you to drive before you even _think_ about picking up a gun."

"Good idea." They eventually arrived at the station in one piece. She helped Bobby out and discretely magic'ed the door open for him.

He ended up smacking her hand saying, "I can do it myself." She rubbed her hand and glowered at him. Cantankerous old man. A woman walked up to them and eyed them. Bobby straightened in his chair.

"Jody Mills." The woman nodded towards him.

"Bobby Singer." Jody looked to Hermione. She held her hand out with a kind smile and shook Joy's hand.

"Hermione Lovegood." Jody kindly nodded and lead them into the station.

"These two went to a man's house and kidnapped him. Attempting murder by the looks of the gun one of them was holding." Hermione winced. That wasn't going to be easy to get them out of. Then, Hermione noticed them give each other secretive looks.

Something clicked in Hermione's mind and she verbally exclaimed, "Ohhhh!" They both turned to look at her strangely and she pointed to both.

"You two are crazy! Bonkers! Mad! Off the wall!"

"Hermione?"

"No! Nope, I'm going to converse with sane people now. The only ones who _see_ the problem. Good day!" Hermione then snatched the cell keys off of Jody's belt and quickly went to find the cells. She could hear the woman yell after her, but she didn't turn around. Hermione was just amazed. The whole town was having the ones the loved come back and what do they do?

Open their doors and say, "Welcome home! I know we buried you, but sure! Come in and be a happy family." People were delusional. Completely blind from reality! Hermione walked over to the boy's cell and they looked so relieved to see her.

"Hermione!"

She waved them away and replied, "I know my name, yes." She shoved the key in the lock and let them out. Dean looked towards a chatting Bobby and Jody.

He stated in disbelief, "So what? They're friends now?"

"You don't know the half of it shortstack."

He looked at her affronted. "Shortstack?" Hermione once again waved him away and pushed them forward.

"I am so glad you two are out. This town is insane! Blind. Insane! I mean, Glenwood crazy." Sam stopped and took her shoulders.

"Hermione, your crazy's showing." Hermione calmed down and pointed to the sheriff and Bobby.

"You'll understand soon, but those two share a dirty little secret. Along with half the town." The boys nodded and Sam patted her on the shoulder.

"Glad we cleared that up." The two walked away from her and she nodded to herself a few times and then followed. Her crazy was showing? Strange. She thought it always showed.

The two boys questioned Bobby without repenting and it got even worse when they got home. Seeing Karen really made them question if Bobby was telling the truth about there being no sign of a horsemen or anything strange going on. Hermione just sat back and watched. It was odd seeing them so untrusting. Hermione knew the truth, but she had a feeling that this would turn out to be a life lesson for Bobby. Just a hunch.

It was a while before Dean and Sam were almost kicked out of the house. She was in the middle of it wondering which people to follow. But, she ultimately decided on Bobby. She wanted to protect him if Karen went all flesh eating batshit. Oh yes, Bobby was capable, but she didn't feel comfortable about leaving a wheelchair bound man by himself with a zombie having the face of his wife.

In the middle of the night, Karen was still in the kitchen, humming her tunes. Hermione could always soundproof her room, but she wanted to keep an ear out. It got to the point where Hermione wanted Castiel to talk with her, but that wasn't happening. He was busy searching for God.

So, instead she got padded downstairs. She walked in on Karen and sat on the counter.

The blonde smiled up at her and asked kindly, "Hungry dear?" Hermione politely nodded. Karen seemed elated and began to make a snack of chocolate chip cookies. Hermione just watched silently as the woman expertly baked. It was fast and coordinated. Like watching Severus make potions. Oh, she missed that.

He had tutored her when she wouldn't stop bugging him for potions lessons. She wanted to be just as skilled as him. They had a sort of friendship. Of course, Severus would never admit it, but she knew he was grateful. It made watching his death all the more painful.

Karen had finished the cookies and put them on a plate. She poured a glass of milk and handed them to Hermione. She smiled in thanks and ate her snack while watching Karen cook even more. It was mesmerizing.

"Karen." She looked over to Hermione. "You remember how you died don't you?" The woman sadly sighed and nodded.

"What gave me away?"

"Nothing. I just think that you love Bobby enough to not let him know you remember."

"Well, you aren't wrong."

Hermione took another bite of a cookie and asked her, "How did you die?" Karen placed all her attention into the baking.

"I was possessed. I could see all the horrible things that demon made me do. The murderous and sickening thoughts. Bobby didn't know what to do. So, he stabbed me. Killed me when I was unpossessed by Rufus. I know Bobby still holds himself responsible." Hermione nodded sadly and finished her snack.

"Well, Mrs. Singer I hate to ask this, but when the time comes, would you want it to be me or him to pull the trigger? You must feel it by now. The inevitability that you won't survive?" Karen looked to Hermione seriously.

"I know. I can feel it. And…..I would like it to be you. I don't want Bobby living through it again. Going through the guilt. He won't make it right by killing me again." Hermione sadly nodded. She took a step forward and hugged Karen.

"I'll make it painless. I promise. You won't feel a thing and Bobby won't know it was me."

Karen whispered a grateful, "Thank you."

Hermione kept to her promise. When two more days passed and Dean came in, gun cocked and ready to shoot Karen. Bobby kicked him off the property. Hermione thought everyone was dramatic. Just say the damn truth! Bobby was ready to pull the trigger and Dean was worried. How hard was it to say that in the first place?

Dean snuck in that late afternoon. Him and Karen talked while Hermione pretended that she wasn't listening. It was the next morning that got crazy.

Karen was unwell and kept repeating, "I'm so hungry." Hermione had an inkling about what for. Karen was laid in bed and taken care of by Bobby. Soon, it was clear that Karen was going downhill fast. Hermione watched with a sad face as Bobby was ready to pull the trigger. Hermione quickly let her magic creep into Karen's brain and snap the pieces attached to life. Therefore, she was dead seconds before Bobby shot her. It was what she promised. Bobby didn't know she had killed his wife and he didn't really kill her. But, Hermione knew that Bobby needed to "do the deed" for himself. It would give him closure of sorts.

The man turned to her with a hardened frown and wheeled past her. She looked to a dead Karen and snapped her fingers again. Her magic broke off and covered the woman with a white sheet. Hermione sighed. She liked Karen. Reminded her of McGonagall. Strong heart.

There were voices downstairs. Sounded like Dean. So, she headed towards them and found them in a rush gathering weapons. She cleared her throat and asked, "How can I help?"

Dean turned towards her and said, "Go help, Sammy at the station. There are too many people there to protect. We could use the power." Hermione nodded and disappeared. Dean blinked and said, "I never seen her do that before." He got back to work when Bobby yelled at him.

Hermione had popped into the station with a surprise and as soon as she opened her mouth, was shot in the head. She fell to the ground and blacked out for a minute. When she woke up, Sammy holding her face and yelling for her to wake up. She groggily pushed him away and stated, "Don't be so dramatic." He sighed in relief and helped her up. Damn she had a headache. "How long was I out?"

"Fifteen seconds."

"You counted?"

"...yes." She snorted and looked to see about twenty people looking at her in fear. Jody Mills held up her rifle.

"Oh! Jody! We're you the one that shot me?" She gulped and Hermione just laughed. "Nice shot! Knocked me out for a record time!" After a moment of nothing, Sam told them to get back to their rounds.

She turned to Sam and said, "Dean sent me to help with protection. Been attacked yet?"

"No. That's what worries me. They should be looking for flesh right now." Hermione nodded and was promptly handed a gun. She quickly handed it back.

"No no no. This is not practice time. I'll use my own amo." Sam tilted his head and she made her hand look like a gun. Pointer and middle finger together. The rest curled up and her thumb in the air. She looked at him excited and said, "I've always wanted to try this." She placed her thumb down and swiftly back up. Pulling her own trigger. A loud sound went off and a hole busted through the wall. She whistled and blew on her fingers, pretending to holster her imaginary gun.

"Watch out zombies! Hermione's locked and loaded!" Sam stared at her oddly and she just shrugged.

"It's like shooting a regular spell, but faster. Just like an invisible bullet."

Sam shook his head and whispered while walking away, "I would hate to be her enemy." Hermione smirked. Oh, her enemies hated being her enemy.

Suddenly, there were moaning sounds. Zombies. Sam shouted, "Alright! Everyone in positions!" Everyone got ready and the fight commenced. They must have killed about five Zombies before there weren't anymore. Shit. There was supposed to be more. Sam just felt an idea hit him. "Maybe they have another focus." Hermione caught on.

"Dean and Bobby!" Hermione swiftly grabbed onto Sam _and_ Jody Mills for back up. "Sorry sheriff! You're going to feel a bit queasy." She quickly apparated and they ended up on Bobby's front porch. Hermione quickly righted everyone when she heard banging and yelling.

"Get a move on Samsquatch!" He paused at the odd name, but quickly moved. They entered his hallway.

Sam shouted, "Duck!" Bobby and Dean did as told and they opened fire. Together, the three of them shot every zombie's head clear off in the span of seconds.

After it was over, Hermione fake holstered her weapon and shouted, "That was totally monster mash slash western!" They all tiredly looked at her and she escorted herself out. It took a while for them to pack up all the bodies. Hermione was just fine with dragging a dead person. Sam and Dean sort of showed off by carrying two bodies at a time. She just narrowed her eyes and continued to drag her collection of corpses. She had magic, humor, an angel, but upper body strength? No.

The day ended and after it all Bobby turned to her and said, "Thank you."

"For?"

"For making Karen's death painless." Her eyes widened.

"How-."

"I heard you two talking in the kitchen." Hermione nodded. He sighed and said, "So, explain to me how your magic works?" Hermione smiled widely.

"Gladly my oldened hunter!"

She and Bobby had a good conversation. He even took notes! She showed him some tricks. Gave him sight to actually _see_ magic for a short period of time. He was amazed. He had pointed out the dark strings of magic in the air. She told him that was this places magic. Hers was bright, but magic here was evil and dark. She had some dark strands in her. But, the dark strands were sort of like magic scars. It was the imprint dark spells did on her. Bobby appreciated her a lot more after that. Told her that her magic was truly amazing.

Castiel came to visit her that night. She laid in her bed wide awake. She was actually waiting for him to show up.

Like a child, she opened her arms to him and asked, "Hold me?" He nodded to her and removed his trench coat. He laid beside her like she always liked and held onto her. He usually felt nothing from contact, but it was different with Hermione. She made him feel just as safe as he did her. He felt warm and happy. He….liked it. Hermione eventually fell asleep and he stayed there for the night. Just holding the forever tormented witch.


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, guys. Listen, I love reviews! I love them a lot! They determine whether I keep writing or not. I like seeing how you want it to play out or what your favorite parts are or even what you don't like. So, as a personal note, please review the story and ENJOY!**

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 **Chapter 8**

Hermione and the Winchesters had grown closer over the last month or so. They taught her the basics in fighting. She new army fighting. Traditional stuff. Not the things they taught her. The physical training was taxing on her. She had never been very good at physical stuff. Her mind was always her greatest weapon.

Actually, shooting guns was the easiest thing. The bullets obeyed her aim and she hit the target every time. Maybe it was because it was like shooting a spell. She was always good at that.

Bobby taught her tips and tricks when dealing with all monsters. Including angels and demons. To add to that, Cas showed her how to turn her ring into an angel blade. It would only obey her command and become unbearably hot in anyone else's hands when trying to steal it from her. A little curse she added. Castiel told her she would have made a good strategy angel. She agreed.

Hermione and the Winchesters took a few small hunts to get away from the apocalypse. they worked well together. Got rid of a few demons and even a couple ghosts. When they faced a werewolf, she was hesitant to kill. Almost got bit. All she could do was look at the snarling werewolf and see the tortured eyes of Remus Lupin. She just couldn't do it.

Hermione refused to tell the brothers why she couldn't pull the silver bullet trigger on the creature. They chocked it up to be one of her delusions. Which, she still got. They weren't as violent. It would just be that sometimes she would wake up and shout for Harry or Severus. They always asked her who those people were, but she never told. She was still afraid that the Death Eaters would find her.

One day, the brothers went to check out some demon omens on their own. She was just fine with that. She liked spending time with Bobby. Though, on the second morning of their stakeout, she decided to bring them some coffee and breakfast. She apparated outside of their hotel room and knocked on the door with a smile.

"Sam! Dean! I brought breakfast!" She waited for a response. All she got were muffled voices of panic. The voices didn't belong to her boys. Hermione quickly vanished the food and coffee onto Bobby's kitchen table and unlocked the door. She walked in and found something that she never wanted to. Sam and Dean, laying on two beds. Bloody and men stood in front of them, holding the murder weapon.

She seethed in grief and anger. "What. did. you. do!" They shrunk back from the pure power in her voice. They tried to explain, but she didn't give them time. What she did was snap her fingers and both men were tied up. They were gagged and she could then work. They would be victims of her wrath. She would cry, but there weren't any tears. Only a burning anger that someone took away her friends lives.

Hermione slowly took off her leather jacket and placed it in the closet. She was twitching with anger. Wearing a tanktop, every scar was on display. The two that were bound winced. She smiled wickedly at them.

"Oh, don't you worry boys. You'll have a matchin' set before I kill you." She Conjured a blade and placed a curse on it. The same curse Bellatrix used on the blade that branded her with a slander. She slowly walked around them.

"You know, I hate torture. I've been through enough of it to never want to burden it on to anyone, However, I'll make an exception for you two." She slowly slid the knife across one of their cheeks. They shouted in pain when the blade burned their skin and let it bleed.

She knelt beside the one she just cut and whispered, "I won't even have to use a drop of dark magic." Hermione had such sadistic pleasure in hurting them. It was wrong. Castiel would surely shun her, but her anger clouded her judgement. All she wanted was them to twist in pain.

She sliced them, yelled profanities and both were a begging bloody mess. How she was going to finish them off was primal. She shifted into her Panther form and promptly tore them limb from limb. They died slow. Just like they should have. She knew they had no families. They were hunters. Hunters didn't just carry that around.

Hermione came off her anger high and looked at the damage before her. It was like waking up from a dream. Her rage ebbed away and only pain came to her. The pain of loss. Sam and Dean were still dead. Nothing could change that. She just killed two men.

"Oh god." She looked around shakily and at her bloody cloths. "Oh god! Oh god! No no no no!" She looked around the room and began to clean it magically. All the remains of the two hunters were vanished to who knows where. Dean and Sam were both pristine and so were the beds. She didn't clean herself though.

Hermione placed the brothers in resting positions. Their hands across their stomachs and feet straight out. She looked at them once and burst into tears. She was insane! Absolutely mad. She just brutally tortured and killed two men. Two men who were shitting their pants in fear. Begging. Apologizing. She just killed them! All in one of her fits of rage. Why didn't she take meds from the hospital? Why did she just do that?

Over and over again she whispered, "I am not Bellatrix. I am not evil. I am not Bellatrix. I am not evil." Over and over. She heard Bella's laughs. The maniacal laughter. Saw the woman walk around the clean room and then at the cursed knife. She whispered one sentence through her cracked and yellowed teeth.

"That's my girl." It made her scream and clutch her head.

"Go away Bella. Bella isn't here. She isn't here!" Her mind kept playing. All through the night, she was tortured with delusions. Voldemort came up to her once to recruit her for the Death Eaters.

He looked at her with venomous red eyes and said, "You would be the best interrogator I have. Tear the mudbloods apart!" Hermione began to scratch her skin. It was a thing she did when the delusions came. The pain reminded her it wasn't real.

The next morning, she was still balling. She honestly didn't know she had that many tears. All she wanted was Cas. For Sam and Dean to come back to her. For the pain to go away. That's when Sam jumped up and opened his eyes. Sucking in a deep breath of air. Dean followed his lead only a second later. They were stunned for a moment, but then looked for the blood. Not finding any of the mess, they saw the crying witch. She was bloody, scratched up and looking absolutely miserable. She couldn't believe it. Sam tried to reach for her, but she flinched away.

"You aren't real. Just a mind trick like Bella. All in my mind. All in my mind."

"No, we're real Hermione. We went to heaven and now we're back." She shook her head and began to scratch vigorously.

Sam snatched her arm and told her gently, "Stop hurting yourself." Her eyes widened and she clutched onto Sam.

"You aren't dead!" He chuckled and hugged her back.

"We wouldn't just leave you alone with Cas!"

Dean spoke up behind them. "Oh I get it. You like Sam better so he's the only one that gets a hug? Fine!" Hermione smiled up at him and gave him a hug too.

He whispered to her, "Don't cry any more kiddo. We're back and here to stay." After they finally got her to calm down. She told them what happened with the two hunters. Dean said good riddance and Sam told her not to be so hard on herself.

They told her of their trip to heaven. Dean seemed to be pretty sore about Sam's best memories. Hermione looked at Dean seriously and said, "Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Push your brother away because he doesn't see the world like you do. You grew up with strong family foundations. Sam didn't. Walk in his shoes." Dean did as she said and guessed she was right. Fighting over something Sammy couldn't control, like what made him happy, was stupid. Which, he would have never admitted aloud if Hermione hadn't suspended him upside down by his ankles and forced him to apologize for being a jerk.

Cas came back and gave Hermione a hug. He told her he was sorry he couldn't reach her in her distress. He was trying to help Sam and Dean get out of heaven. She understood. He also told her to not be so hard on herself about the two hunters she killed. He said that the two were on a straight path for hell anyways. That made her feel a bit better.

When Cas learned about God not wanting to intervene and save the world, he felt lost. Like he would if Hermione would tell him she never wanted to see him again. Abandoned and hurt. God was his father. And his father just sort of walked out on him. He gave Dean back the amulet and Dean put it back on. Cas walked away and Hermione decided to give him some space to grieve. Losing someone like that was awful. She personally knew what it was like to lose a parent. It felt like your heart being torn out, ripped in half, and shoved back in.

Her father had left her mother after cheating on her. It was heartbreaking for a six year old Hermione who thought it was her fault her father had left. She felt like Cas. Lost.

Cas would come to her and ask for comfort. She would give it to him. Just like he had to her for so long.

Hermione gently cupped his face and told him, staring into his bright blue eyes, "I will never abandon you." Castiel believed her. He believed every single word.


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you for the reviews! I really love the support for this story. Anywho, this chapter is a bit wonky. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! Also, another note to make is that for the next chapters, I'm going to follow the scripts more. I want to see if it'll bring more of the original episodes to this story. Tell me what you think about it! Please review and I hope you ENJOY!**

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 **Chapter 9**

They were outnumbered. The three of them drove fast down the road. The demons just wouldn't get the hell away! So many of them! Dean drove like a maniac and they eventually skidded to a halt when they reached a giant fucking wall of fire. Hermione was freaked out. She _knew_ she should have just stayed home with Bobby. Studying seemed so much better than this shit.

The demons tried to get them, but they kept shooting them away. That is, until everything was blasted with a butt load of holy water. All the demons burned and screamed. A man came on a megaphone and started shouting something in Enochian. Cas was trying to teach it to her. She wanted to know how to understand it. So far, the lessons weren't going so well. Learning a language known to celestial beings was difficult.

The demons all exited the bodies and everything went silent for a moment. Sam and Dean exited the car and just stared at the three men that saved them. One of them had to only be nineteen!

"Uh. Thanks."

"No problem." They started to pack up, but Dean stopped them.

"Woa. Just wait a second! What was that?"

"Well, those were demons and believe it or not, this is the apocalypse."

Sam scoffed and said, "Yeah. We know."

"What?"

"We're hunters."

"Demon hunters?"

"Of sorts yeah." The guys still looked like they didn't believe the two. So, they popped their trunk to show them their arsenal of weapons.

The nineteen year old just sort of shrugged and said, "Well then."

Dean eventually got the guys to let them go to wherever their base was set up. When they got there, Hermione was amazed. So many people just came together against a demon main base was a small section of town. There was a bar, some motel rooms, and other things. The main control center was a church. To even get in you needed to pass guards and a few demon traps. It was amazing!

They walked in the church only to see a wedding. A wedding of all things! Hermione didn't stick with the brothers. There was something in the church that made her feel uncomfortable. Maybe it was the girl that was glaring at her or maybe just the fact that she was a witch and that was considered unholy.

She stepped outside and decided to check out the place. She ran into a few mean lookin' folks, but continued on. They had a good set up. Lots of weapons, demon traps, and even a walk way with hidden hanging rosary's everywhere. Which, didn't do much, but it was a good effort.

However, she found the use of it when she crossed under the arches above the walkway and was drenched with holy water. There was boisterous laughter behind her and she turned to see the two brothers laughing behind her. She wanted so bad to sting them with a hex, but the pastor was behind them, chuckling.

The pastor laughed to her, "At Least we know you aren't a demon." She just grumbled and looked at her poor leather jacket. Good thing it was waterproof. The leather would _not_ do well. Hermione stepped out of the walkway carefully and smacked both boys roughly.

"Don't laugh." They did anyways. Knowing very well that she couldn't do anything magical while the pastor was around. She sighed and smiled at the man, holding out her hand.

He shook it and she said, "Hermione Lovegood. You are?"

"Pastor Gideon." She studied him for a moment. His hair was greying, but he stood like a younger man. He had a heavy jacket and the pastor get up was underneath. He had a gun strapped to his leg, but a light smile. They released hands and she sighed and looked at her mostly wet form.

"Do you happen to have a towel?" He nodded and lead her inside with a smile.

He told the brothers, "Go find a place to stay. Then look around the town. It really is nice here." The boys nodded and looked to see if Hermione would be alright. She nodded and waved them away.

Her and the pastor entered the church and walked down to where everyone was helping out. Packing salt rounds and making holy water. She whistled and looked at the pastor packing a gun.

"Nice operation you got here." He smiled kindly and went to the back and grabbed her a towel. She took off her jacket and dried off her hair and things. Everything went a bit down hill for Hermione. She heard someone stomp towards them and she looked up. It was the girl that was glaring at her in church. A short girl wearing a pink sweater and nice clothes to go with her bouncy blonde hair. She had a defensive scowl on her face.

"Dad, she's not welcome in this place of worship."

Hermione got defensive and said, "Well hi, I'm Hermione and you must be this lovely man's daughter." She growled and her father questioned his daughter's outrageous actions.

"Leah! What is the meaning of this?"

She looked to her father desperately and said, "She's a witch! The angels told me! She works for Lucifer. Trying to sabotage the Winchester's mission to stop the apocalypse." She couldn't have known that.

Hermione growled and stomped in anger, "Outrageous!"

The pastor said, "Now Leah. That's a bit far fetched."

"She has the marks of a follower of Lucifer!"

"What!?" Hermione was done with the bitch, but she wasn't done with Hermione. She ripped her sleeves straight off. That wasn't supposed to happen! All her cloths were strengthened. There was something wrong with this girl. But, all her rune scars were in view. The whole group held guns to her, but the pastor could sense something wrong about the accusation. Hermione had never felt so exposed.

The brothers hadn't even seen the full extent of her scars. They would never heal. They would always be jagged red and very seeable. Castiel would trace the scars when she felt ashamed of her own skin. It was such a human thing he did it made her smile. But smiling wasn't something she was doing at the moment. Now she was terrified. She would _not_ use magic against these confused people. Hermione didn't even know if there was a mark of Lucifer's follower. This girl must be making things up! Hermione held up her hands and decided to just go with it. She couldn't convince them. They were too stuck on following their "prophet" of the lord. What bull!

"I'm _not_ working for Lucifer."

"Oh yeah! Explain the marks."

"I did them myself. Teleportation magic. I needed to get away." Leah wouldn't have any of it.

"There's more proof! Shoot her!" Hermione glared at them.

"You're going to kill me over the word of a little girl's word?" And, it seemed like they would. She was roughly shot in the chest and she began to bleed. Damnit! They hit her heart. She fell to the wall and struggled to breath. This would be hard. Then someone shot her in the head because she wouldn't die. She blacked out and knew the bullet was stuck. She needed to get the damn thing out!

Everything soon began to heal and the bullet was pushed out. So did the one in her heart. When she opened her eyes, she was strapped to a chair and being heavily watched. Sam and Dean were there having a fit and yelling. Sam caught her eye and she shook her head. They needed to figure out what was wrong in this town. That meant letting her get hurt or whatever they planned.

She mouthed to them, "Play victim." They were reluctant, but she could see them beginning to let Leah know that they understood her. That they knew about her witch powers, but never knew she was a follower of Lucifer. Which was true in a sense. Then again, If Leah knew everything about Sam and Dean, Hermione guessed the girl could tell when they were lying. Hermione then lifted her head as the bullet hole healed. She would play these people. Anything to make it so the brothers could get this job done.

Time to dust off her acting skills. Hermione chuckled in an almost malicious way. The people in the room looked towards her.

"You got me! Good job. Now what are you going to do? Burn me?" She was really trying to channel her inner Death Eater. Going for a mix of Lucius and Bellatrix. Snobby and crazy. It was only Leah, the Pastor, Sam, Dean, and two other towns people.

Sam walked over to her, but Leah held her back. "She can influence your mind if you get to close." Actually, Hermione could influence anyone in her line of sight, but this bitch didn't know that. How was she getting all this?

Then, Hermione knew. Her mind! How was she getting past her defences? Hermione didn't even feel Leah shuffling through her thoughts, but then again, the girl was only getting pieces of memories. Hermione enforced her fields and Leah narrowed her eyes. Hermione even went as far as to put up a slight magical wall in their minds. It took a lot out of her to do mind arts like that. She was powerful, but even she had limits.

Hermione smiled sweetly and said, "No passage bitch." Leah for her part stood still and didn't react. Everyone was silent. Hermione got sick of it.

"So! What are we doing here? Torture, execution, oh! How about some emotional stuff? Revealing our deepest darkest secrets and see who we hurt by revealing." Leah smacked her across the face and Hermione laughed at the extra kick of pain. This was not a human. Hermione maliciously cackled and scared her by jumping forward. Leah jumped away and Hermione laughed again. So, she decided to move things along, she would "confess" to being Lucifer's bitch.

"Alright! You got me!" She looked mockingly sad to Dean and Sam.

"I want Sam to say yes. I want Dean to say yes. I want a fight. I want my master to be happy." Hermione felt sick saying it and the brothers looked pained hearing it.

The pastor asked, "Master?" She hated being untruthful to Gideon.

"Lucifer. I was _raised_ to serve him. He gave me my gifts. Marked me with them too." Hermione then glared at Leah.

"My plan was going great until this whore here ruined it." Leah seemed to look around at the name whore. Huh. Strange. Leah seemed angry too. She didn't expect Hermione to confess. Maybe to fight the accusations, but never confess. So, Hermione would trick this girl. She crafted fake memories of her following orders from the devil. Of her being elated when he told her a job well done. Good thing Sam and Dean showed her the man Lucifer was using as a vessel or this wouldn't work at all. It all really made Hermione want to scratch her own brain out. Leah seemed to look at Hermione a bit differently. With extreme jealousy. Huh. Guess the whore is an attention whore.

Hermione pulled at the restraints she could easily break and said to them, "I am his most devoted! I serve him. I can't die. I will be his most loyal forever." Sam and Dean looked about ready to barf.

Dean growled, "You son of a bitch."

She rolled her eyes and groaned, "Get over it! Now! You can't kill me, can't keep me here, can't do anything. What do you plan on doing?" Dean walked up to her and pulled out the demon knife.

Dean then said with better acting then she thought he possessed, "This can kill you." She tried her best to look frightened. And, she actually was a bit scared. Neither of them knew if it would really kill her or not. She screamed when the smooth blade was dug right through her heart. She actually sparked blue for a moment. Then he twisted it. She was gone. Not dead, but sure enough passed out and bleeding. Dean looked towards Sam who seemed to be frightened that they actually killed her. Dean felt for her pulse and found it. Which made him sigh in relief a little. He was worried that the wound wasn't healing though. He got up and nodded to Sam. He sighed in relief too. They looked to a smug looking Leah and a sad pastor.

"It's alright, Padre. She was just Lucifer's lap dog." The man nodded and Dean and Sam decided that they would take her. As soon as they got outside, they ran to their room and quickly took the blade out. She gasped as the wound finally healed.

"Fucking shit that hurt!" They laughed in relief and helped her up. "I thought I would die that time."

Sam asked her, "Why didn't you? That thing can kill demons, and anything else. Why not you?" Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.

"Glad you want me around Sammy. But the truth is, I don't know." When everything calmed down, Hermione decided to go back to Bobby's until they needed her help. The two needed to get this Leah chick somehow. She just seems to be some kind of a problem needing taken care of. Reading minds and getting everyone's trust. Devious and inhuman.

They let Hermione go and said they would call if anything came up. She left telling them,"I'm going to go wash my mouth out now. All those filthy lies really make one feel dirty."

Dean patted her shoulder and said jokingly, "It's alright. Lucifer just wishes he had you." Hermione shivered at the thought.

The witch apparated away and landed in Bobby's living room. Which, scared the crap out of the man. He was on the couch and fell to the floor. Which sucked for the paralyzed man. Hermione hurried and levitated him back onto the couch.

He sighed and growled out to her, "I said no teleporting in my house!" She stomped her foot and crossed her arms angrily.

"Castiel gets to do it."

"He's an angel. He can do whatever the hell he wants." Hermione grumbled and sat down on the coffee table.

"I died _twice_ today."

"Oh really, from what this time?"

"Well, Sam and Dean are checking out a town of demon hunters and this weird chick Leah who convinced everyone I was Lucifer's bitch. Which, got me shot in the brain and stabbed in the heart by Dean." Bobby looked you to her.

"Dean stabbed you?"

"Yeah, with Ruby's knife."

He winced. That had to hurt. Bobby would never get used to Hermione coming home and saying that she died during the day. And man did the child die a lot. What if one day she stayed dead? For all her intelligence, she was reckless.

Hermione looked around and asked, "Want something to eat?" He looked up to her and smiled.

"Sure. I've been waitin' for lunch." Hermione smiled and helped Bobby into his chair. He wheeled to the kitchen with her and she decided to grill up some chicken and corn. Bobby liked it when someone cooked for him. Plus, Hermione was a semi-great cook.

When everything was done, the two sat down for lunch. Well, Bobby was already sitting down. Which made Hermione chuckled a little. But she stop when she realised it was a tad insensitive.

They finished eating and Bobby decided that they should get to work. She was bouncing in excitement at the thought of doing research. Sure, kicking ass was nice, but she always loved a good study.

They worked the entire day to find the last two horsemen. Hermione had a feeling that Death would be the hardest. How do you actually _find death_? It was the oldest thing known to man. Maybe even older than God. It was a crazy notion.

About a day later, Hermione got a call from Sam saying specifically, "Something is _seriously_ wrong with, Cas." She had never apparated so fast. She made a wild guess that they were in the motel room. When she got in there, she could smell alcohol admitting from someone. And she took another wild guess and guessed it was Castiel. She was right when she turned around and saw a stumbling angel.

Hermione sighed and rubbed her temples. Angels didn't take disappointment well did they?

"Cas…..what the hell?" He rolled his head to look at her and fell onto the couch. She narrowed her eyes.

Sam spoke up beside them and said, "He says he drank a liquor store."

Hermione groaned and knelt in front of Cas and grabbed his hands.

"Cas, what did I say about humans dealing with feelings?" He seemed to be racking his brain for the answer.

He finally told her, "That drinking is never the answer unless you're Dean Winchester. I should just talk about it." Hermione nodded and Sam tried to keep in a chuckle about the Dean part.

"That's right, Cas. And what did you do instead of talk about it?" Castiel looked down in shame.

"I drank like Dean Winchester." Hermione nodded and made him look at her. A small laugh escaped Sam.

"Don't let me catch even a whiff of alcohol from you again alright?" Cas nodded and she patted his leg. "I'm going to get you something to make that all go away." Hermione then apparated back to Bobby's house which frightened him again. Making him drop a book. She waved and grabbed her bookbag.

Hermione apparated back with Bobby yelling behind her, "No teleporting!" She arrived back in the room and reached her hand deep into the bookbag. She pulled out a phial of slushy green liquid and then decided that four more would help her angel friend.

She unstoppered one and shoved it into his hand. "Drink." And so he did. The angel almost spit it out, but she glared at him. There weren't magical potion ingredients in the muggle world. So, substituting ingredients was a hastle. He would _not_ waste her sober up potions. She unstoppered the other three and he downed them. By the end, they had a fully functional Castiel. Sam was thoroughly impressed.

She sat down and asked if they figured out what was up with this Leah chick. Cas said to her, "She's The Whore of Babylon."

Hermione snorted. "No wonder she's so angry. With a nickname like that I would be too."

Castiel continued, "She can take the form of a human and read minds. Her job is to condemned as many souls to hell as she can. The exorcism is fake and so are the prophecies." Hermione just kind of stared.

"Well isn't she just a piece of work." Sam nodded.

"Doesn't Dean know yet?"

"No, but we're telling him as soon as he gets in." Hermione nodded. Dean soon came in and they told him who Leah really was. They needed to kill her.

Castiel came back with a twisting branch in his hand. Hermione asked, "What is that?"

He replied to her, "A cypress branch from Babylon." Hermione picked it up.

"Hmm. Fancy."

Dean snatched it from her and asked, "So what? We just stab her with it?" Castiel then snatched it from Dean.

"The Whore can only be killed by a true servant of Heaven. So, not you."

Sam opened his mouth to suggest him, but Castiel shot him down by saying, "Sam of course is an abomination." Sam closed his mouth and glared. It was true though. Dean pointed to Hermione. Castiel cleared his throat and Hermione nodded.

"I was never a church goer and being a witch is a pagan thing. Even if I don't worship the gods."

"So, who can kill The Whore?"

Sam suggested, "The pastor?" They were all in agreement. Castiel went out and grabbed Pastor Gideon. He came back with the man that was fairly certain he was going crazy.

Dean told Gideon, "Yeah, he wasn't lying about the angel thing." The pastor looked around and spotted Hermione he went for his gun on instinct.

Castiel quickly grabbed the pastor's hand and ground out, "If she is shot one more time, you are losing a hand." He gulped and Castiel let him go. So, they sat the man down and told him that he needed to be the one to kill Leah.

He shook his head. "I can't. She's my daughter."

Dean insensitively said, "No, that's the thing that killed your daughter." Hermione smacked his shoulder.

"Would you like it if you killed a shape-shifter that looked like Sam?" Dean glowered, but she believed he understood the message.

Hermione looked to the pastor and said, "You're the only one that can do it."

He pointed to Castiel and said, "But he's an angel."

"A poor excuse for one" Castiel scoffed.

"And before you ask, I'm a witch, Sam started the apocalypse, and Dean already sold his soul once. We aren't very good candidates either." Gideon finally understood.

With their plan in action, Gideon snuck into the church. Hermione decided to stay as back up while the rest went in. She had full confidence that they could do the task on their own. Well, she _did_ have full confidence until there was screaming and a lot of breaking things. She sighed and apparated in there.

What she found was Castiel coughing up blood, Sam thrown against a wall and Dean wrestling with the creature on the ground. She sighed and looked for Gideon. Oh! There he was passed out on the floor. First things first, Hermione summoned the damn tree branches and blasted Leah away from Dean. She threw the branch to Dean who caught it. She then wandered over to Castiel and got him out of there.

When she came back, Leah was impaled and flashing forms violently. Hermione looked to Dean who was surely _not_ a servant of heaven. Unless…...unless he planned to say yes to Michael. Well shit. That would take a while to drill into his head that saying yes was not the answer. She didn't just give up her comfy home at Glenwood for the world to explode.

When they got back to the motel room, Hermione went out on a search for the real Leah Gideon. She found her. Laying in a ditch all half decomposed. Hermione winced and wrapped the girl in a white sheet and took her to the church for a proper burial.

She went back and found Dean leaving. He obviously wasn't supposed to leave, for Sam was yelling for him. Hermione sighed and decided to follow the stupid man. She shifted into her Animagus form and sped after the Impala. She stuck to the sidelines and watched as he approached a house. She shifted back panting. That was a long run.

A woman opened the door. She was pretty. Straight brown hair, stunning smile and deep brown eyes. She could understand why Dean was mooning over her. Hermione watched them carefully. Dean was…..saying goodbye. That wasn't right. The woman seemed upset. Kept trying to invite him in. Hermione wouldn't let this go any farther.

Dean sped off and she went with him. He checked into a motel and began packing away things in a box. Hermione stood to the side and made herself visible while he wrote a letter.

"Suicide?"

He sighed and looked towards her. "No."

"Looks like it to me." She got up and snatched the letter.

"Dear Sam. I'm sorry it has to be this way, but I'm done. Finished. I can't go on anymore in this fight when we aren't making any difference. Please-." Dean snatched the letter from her and she crossed her arms. She snapped her fingers and the letter burned. "Sounds like a suicide letter. Trust me I've written a few." Dean looked away and she sighed.

"Sit down, you're going to hear a story." He looked at her for a moment and then did as she said.

"You know, I used to be pals with two boys that were just like you. Except, they were about twelve. Which made the angst so much worse." She pulled a chair in front of him and sat down.

"Harry had a destiny he had to follow. He was the one to defeat the Dark Lord. Didn't even get a say. Just like you." Dean groaned.

"Let me guess, he defied the rules and it turned out alright?" Hermione shook her head.

"No, he followed his destiny and died. So did half the wizarding world and things were taken over by the Dark Lord." He looked up to her bewildered.

"Look, what I'm trying to say is that him following his destiny, playing his role in the world, it was supposed to save us all. Like you saying yes to Michael is supposed to save the world, but guess what? It was probably the worst thing that could have happened. Ron, practically his best friend next to me, was tortured to death in front of me. I watched my mentor and friend die at the mercy of a monster snake. He bled into my hands and I couldn't save him. I still remember his last words to me. "I'm proud of you." It was the only thing I ever wanted from him, for him to be proud of me, and they were his dying words." Hermione took a deep calming breath and continued.

"I was kept as a chew toy for Death Eaters. Tortured, starved, and lead into insanity. Does that sound like a good outcome from him playing his role?" Dean was silent. Hermione took Dean's hands and looked him straight in the bright green eyes that reminded her so much of Harry's.

"Look. Say yes to Michael and things won't turn out as good as promised. That I am one hundred percent positive of. Things for me would have been better if we went with our gut and did something different. Don't make the same mistake we did." She let go of Dean and began to unpack all his things from the box.

She held out his leather jacket and said, "C'mon. We have horsemen to kill." He smiled gratefully up at her and took his jacket.

Dean would stay strong. He wanted to make the world better.


	10. Chapter 10

**Oh guys, you are in for a powerful Hermione treat here. We got some anger, some Cas and Hermione fluff, and something extra thrown in there. This is a quicky chapter. Only because the next chapter is the longest one in here. I needed to split it up somewhere. Anywho, don't forget to review so I can get your feedback and ENJOY!**

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

They were all hunkered down at Bobby's place, searching another endless pile of books. Seriously, Hermione would have bet that Bobby had a secret expansion spell on his bookcase. They weren't even making a dent.

It took a while for Dean to make them believe that he was on the right track. He was _not_ going to say yes. Hermione completely knocked the notion from his head. Sam thanked her over five times for being able to drill something through his brother's thick skull.

Hermione had just turned the page on the book she was currently reading when Castiel doubled over clutching his head. Hermione was up faster than anyone could blink. She helped him up.

Castiel said distractedly, "Something's wrong." He flapped away and they all just sort of stared at the spot he had disappeared from.

"What?" The rest of them shrugged and Hermione got back to reading. About ten minutes later, Castiel had come back in with a person flipped over his shoulder.

"Help!" Hermione quickly helped Castiel lower the boy covered in dirt. She waved her hand over him and all the dirt was washed away. He was a skinny thing. Light brown hair like Dean's. Sort of the same haircut too. Just longer. His face just screamed that there was usually the essence of a cocky smirk. His clothes were old and still a bit dirty, but clean enough. She was guessing if he opened his eyes, they would be greenish blue. Just like Sam's. He looked a lot like the Winchesters. Suddenly Sam spoke up behind them.

"That's our brother. Adam."

She looked at him wide eyed. "There are more of you?!" Dean rolled his eyes and Cas woke Adam up. His eyes popped open and he took a deep gasping breath. His greenish blue eyes hastily looked around the room. He sat up and seemed to be panicking.

"My bag, Cas!" Castiel fluttered away and came back with her bag. She reached in the bag and grabbed a phial full of sparkling yellow liquid. She quickly grabbed Adam's face and made him chug the liquid. It took a few tries, but he finally drank it. As soon as he did, his whole demeanor relaxed and she sighed. Calming potion. Perfect for panic attacks. She would know.

Hermione slowly helped Adam up and he finally looked at everyone calmly. When his eyes set on Hermione, he didn't thank her, but actually shoved her away in what almost seemed like disgust. The phial shattered from her hands as she landed on the floor.

Hermione growled as she got up saying, "What the hell dude! I give you calming juice and you push me around. Way to bite the hand!" Adam scoffed and crossed his arms defensively.

"The angels told me about you. Satanic bitch!" Castiel grabbed Adam by the shirt and pushed him against a wall roughly.

"Say another word like that and I'll tear out your tongue." Sam and Dean pulled Castiel away as Hermione got up.

"It's fine, Cas. I've been called worse. Had them all permanently carved into my skin too." He narrowed his eyes at her and she held up her hands in surrender. He stormed from the room and Hermione sighed.

Dean stood in between everyone and said, "Alright! We got off on the wrong foot here. First, Adam. No insulting Hermione. You do, you'll have three angry people wanting to beat you to a pulp. Second, Hi. I'm Dean, that's Sam. We're your brothers from John Winchester's side."

Adam looked at them annoyed and said, "Yeah, I know."

"Good. Now, what else did those jerks with wings tell you?"

"Oh nothing much. Just not to trust you and that-." Dean glared before he continued, "Witch. They said I was chosen."

"Chosen?"

"To save the world."

"How?"

"I dunno. Me and some archangel are ganna team up to kick the Devil's ass and stop the apocalypse."

Hermione shouted in frustration, "Fucking angels have a plan B? What the hell." Hermione needed some time. This was getting crazy. Michael was going to possess another part of the bloodline? Well, shit! Can't these feathered ass monkeys just go away?

Hermione stormed outside and threw a few curses at some run down pile of junk. She fixed it all after her tantrum and sat on the dirt ground. Done. She was done with all of it! Why couldn't anyone just let the world have some peace? Was there seriously always a villain out there, lined up and ready to fight? She just wanted a break.

Hermione sighed and layed down on the dirt, looking up at the sky. It was a nice day actually. There was a blue sky and fluffy white clouds. The breeze was wonderful and she just had to close her eyes for a moment. She needed to take a chill pill. Seriously. Her anger was just off the charts lately.

A shadow came over her and she opened her eyes. Castiel was standing over her. She sighed and held out her hand. While he tried to pull her up, she pulled him down. He landed on the ground next to her and she held onto his hand. They laid there in silence.

Until Castiel finally said, "I apologize."

"For?"

"For threatening to tear out Adam's tongue." Hermione squeezed his hand.

"It's alright. I know you mean well." They sat in silence once more until Hermione spoke up. "The angels plan to use Adam as Michael's vessel."

"It could work."

"That's what I was afraid of." She turned her head to him and asked, "Is there actually any hope? Or was I just put in another war torn place where torture is my forever?" Castiel looked over to her with his sharp blue eyes.

"I won't let that happen." She chuckled softly and looked back up to the sky.

"Some things, you just can't control. I appreciate the feeling though. It helps."

The angel turned her face towards him and said seriously, "I mean it. I would die before letting you be tortured again." She smiled smally.

"That's extremely human, Cas."

He asked confused, "Is that a bad thing?" She shook her head and kissed his nose swiftly.

"Not at all." Hermione got up from the ground and went back inside. Castiel just sort of laid there in shock. She….kissed his nose. What an odd thing for her to do! But it felt good. Made his stomach all fluttery. He didn't know what it meant, but it was most certainly a human emotion.

Once everything was sorted out, Adam still wanted to run off. He stayed though. They all took turns watching him while the others got some work done. When it was Hermione's turn to watch Adam, he was defensive. A bit rude too.

She got fed up with it and asked, "What in God's great glory has you all on the 'name Hermione a villain' side? Last time I checked, I was trying to help humanity." He glared over at her.

"The angels say you're just a Satan adoring witch. Helping the Winchesters to ruin the world."

"What a load of bull! If I wanted to ruin the world, I would have killed you by now. Snapped your neck with a snap of my fingers." He leaned towards her with a smirk.

"See. Evil." She leaned even closer.

"No. Truth." She held up her hands and snapped her fingers. He tried to shout in pain as his fingers split, but she made it so he couldn't.

"Now you listen to me you little shit. I haven't been busting my ass since eleven years old just be slammed by some punk ass kid that thinks he's the center of the universe. I could very well kill anyone any time I want, but I don't. Instead, I save people. Now, you say one more cruel and unjust word to me, and I will personally, shove your own fingers down your throat and snap your neck clean in half while you choke on your own appendages. Got it?" He now looked at her fearfully. He nodded and she fixed his fingers and let him speak. Sam, Dean, Castiel, and Bobby stared wide eyed at what happened just then.

Dean patted Cas's shoulder and said, "Wow, Cas. You sure can pick 'em." Castiel raised his eyebrows at Dean who just smirked and went back to reading. Hermione didn't leave the house, just sat back down and went back to reading. That was her second outburst that day. Ridiculous. She kept an eye on Adam and she could tell he was beginning to see that the angels may not be all that truthful.

Later on, Adam fell asleep and Bobby was on watch. Halfway through, the kid fucking disappeared. Just like that. Bobby had called them all up and said the kid had vanished. Just vanished! Like Hermione's apparating.

"Cas!" The angel fluttered into existence and they told him what happened.

Cas ended up coming to conclusion that, "The angels took him."

"How would they do that?"

"Maybe through his dream." Hermione shrugged that made sense. Okay. They needed to get Adam back before Michael had a chance to get to the kid.

However, Dean began to tell them, "It's ganna be a trap. I'm going to get there, and Adams going to be hurt. They'll ask me to say yes to save him. It happens every time."

Hermione pointed out, "But Adam can also be used as a vessel. So, if we don't get Adam out, Michael is taking him over."

"So, we're screwed." It seemed hopeless. Until Castiel spoke up.

"Not necessarily. If we can get Adam before he officially says yes. Then Michael won't get him."

"How would he do that?"

"I would assume we just go and grab him."

Dean nodded. "Simple enough, but there may be a small problem. Where is he?"

"Most likely the Green Room."

"You mean that fancy ass place I was put in last time?"

"Precisely." They then came up with a plan. Cas and Hermione would take out the guard angels while the rest of them got Adam. The brothers thought it would be too dangerous for Hermione to just zap in there and grab Adam. The angels would be expecting it.

So, Cas zapped them to some run down muffler factory by an airport in Van Nuys, California. Dean was expecting the place to be in, oh, somewhere like Heaven! Not in a dingy part of town somewhere near an airport.

The four of them walked to the side door and Cas looked to Hermione. He passed her a blade and she looked at it oddly. He held out his hand and told her, "Carve the sigil." She knew which sigil. The one that blasted angels to kingdom come. With it on him, it would surely do a lot of damage, but she had a plan to reduce that. She carved and he flinched. Without warning him, she carved the same sigil into her own hand. He tried to stop her, but she just glared.

"Cas, if you do that on your own, you're toast and you know that. I'm not letting you fry your own ass, so this will distribute the power." He tried to tell her no, but she just finished the carving and passed the blade to Dean. "We're a team, Cas. This isn't heaven's army."

He slowly nodded and the two of them walked into the abandoned factory. What a truly crappy place. In the middle of the barren floor was a box room. Must be the Green Room. Better look cool on the inside, because the outside was a shabby mess. They walked in and looked around, that's when they were jumped.

Cas pulled out his blade and was quick to be rid of the angel closest to him. Hermione shifted her ring into her very own blade which made the angels gasp in surprise, for she had no wings. The witch and the angel fought together. It was almost time. Hermione was in a wrestling battle on the floor with a burly angel wearing a fine tailored suit. She tried to get him off, but the angel blade he held was coming closer and closer to her face. The angel suddenly erupted in blinding blue light and was thrown off of her. She looked up at her savior angel and pretended to swoon.

"My hero!" He rolled his eyes and helped her up. That was only four angels down. Five more were coming for them.

Castiel yelled, "Come on! Just do it!" The angels smirked to each other and leaped at the chance to smite the rebelled angel. Cas looked at her and she swiftly nodded. The two clasped hands and in a painful light, everyone in that area was blasted away. Hermione wasn't an angel, but with the combination of holding onto Castiel and having the sigil carved in her hand, she was gone.

In truth, the two of them had appeared on the side of the road, clutching hands, bleeding and dead. But, Hermione's mind began to heal while Cas's grace healed him. They were found and carted to a hospital, but neither knew that. Cas was blank, but Hermione, she was in darkness. Aware that she wasn't dead.

Through the darkness came a light. A small fuzzy light. She walked towards it and when she came upon it, there it was. Her dream. The two running films on a canvas of nothing. She dropped to the ground and and just stared at her life story running over and over again. A voice spoke up behind her.

"Fascinating, isn't it?" She quickly turned around to see a man standing before her. He was skin and bones, pale with slicked back black hair. He wore one of fanciest suits she had ever seen, with a black cane. It had the head of a skull in pure silver for the handle.

She asked him confused, "What?" He walked up to her and his steps echoed.

"I said, it's fascinating. You, a normal mortal in every sense, having so much power. Gifts, that you haven't even begun to touch. I'm Death by the way." He held out his hand to the right and there was a table with two chairs. "Sit with me." She did so respectfully. They were sat down and she listened to his careful words.

"I'll say this as clearly as I possibly can. I'm adopting you."

Hermione blinked owlishly. "Excuse me?"

"It wasn't clear enough?"

"No, it was clear enough. I just have no idea why."

He sighed and leaned forward with a serious frown. "Let me put it simply. I saved you. Me and you both know that the runes carved in you were meant for a mass murder. Including yourself. What you actually succeeded in doing was blowing up that earth."

"That earth?" Hermione was officially freaked out. No one knew what she had really planned to do. That's why it was so alarming when she came up alive and in the nuthouse. She was supposed to die along with it. Be a human sized nuclear bomb that could crack the earth in half. It was serious magic she had picked up in the restricted section and dark arts. It was dark magic she invented. That much power in the wrong hands could be catastrophic.

Hermione sighed and laid her head on her hands. She hated admitting it to herself that she tried to destroy a planet. The brothers would surely distrust her. Castiel…...he would shy away. She didn't want that.

At first, she was really afraid that the Death Eaters were still out for her. Then she noticed the magic in the air. She kind of knew, but paranoia was a bitch. It always slammed her hard.

"You haven't noticed by now? You're in a completely different timeline."

"I...I've been ignoring the signs."

"Indeed you have. Back to the subject at hand, you are becoming very popular to the angels and other powerful beings. I saved you because you are the only person that can save this timeline that God loves so much. He asked me to pick a mortal worth the position, and I picked you. You should consider yourself lucky. Now the crying baby, Lucifer has me on a leash and I need to ensure that you do the job I saved you to do. To do that, you need to be under my watch. With every powerful entity trying to get grabs on the witch that I gave the inability to die, I need to place my mark on you."

Hermione was in way over her head. Adopted by Death? The horseman they were trying to waste. It was just too crazy."Well, I guess you got first dibs?"

"I guess so. Don't let me regret it."

"I won't. Humanity in this world is as good as safe."

"Good. I can't let the Daughter of Death disgrace her name."

That made her stomach twist. She chuckled nervously, "That sounds strange."

"It is true though."

"I guess." They sat for a minute and she just stared at him. Death just adopted her. That has to top all the weird things in her life.

She looked up to him and asked, "Why are you only telling me this now?"

"Well, I haven't had the chance. But with all of your defenses lowered and Lucifer finally giving me some breathing room, it seemed like the perfect time to pay you a visit." She nodded.

"So, what now?"

"Now, you wake up and get those two boys to stop the apocalypse already. I'm done being the devil's dog." He stood up and she followed. The table disappeared and and he reached out to her. He placed his hand on her forehead and her vision was instantly dark again.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey peeps. I know it's only been about four days since my last update, but I am writing like a machine here! I have a million and one ideas and I don't know how it'll all play out, but just have to say that I take a lot of pride in this chapter. I went through about 20 The Used Songs, 15 My Chemical Romance and bucket full of Melanie Martinez. Let's just say, this is a great chapter in my opinion. Alright, enough fluffing my feathers. Please Review and ENJOY!**

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

She could feel her body again. Her eyes slowly opened to reveal a bright light. She blinked a few more times and could finally look around. Hermione instantly knew where she was. Another hospital. Gosh she hated hospitals. She looked down to her arms and saw the IVs and instantly tore them out. She could heal just fine.

She looked around and unattached every wire on her before it could blare that annoying noise. She sat on the edge of the bed and sat just for a second. Everything ached. Oh, Castiel must be a mess. Castiel! Without thinking, she just stumbled out of the room in a desperate attempt to find her angel.

The nurses tried to coax her back to her room, but she just kept saying, "I need to find, Cas!" She finally passed his room and stumbled beside him. Why weren't her feet working? She dropped by his bed and stared at his wings. They were so broken. She gently stroked one and it twitched in pain.

"Oh, Cas."

The nurse stood beside her and asked, "Cas? That's his name? Ma'am? What are you looking at?" She looked at the nurse angrily.

"His wings! They're so broken!"

"Wings?" Hermione glared at the woman.

"He's an angel!" Hermione grabbed Cas's hand and brushed his dark hair away from his face.

"He's my angel." Hermione knew she was being irrational, but her thoughts wouldn't piece together and everything was just jumbled.

The nurse tried to get her away again, but she just smacked the woman away. There was sharp pain in her neck and she knew what it was. They were sedating her!

"You bastards!" Her vision began to swim and she tried to hold onto Cas, but she was pulled away and blacked out again. When she woke up, she was strapped to a bed. She pulled and pulled, but her strength wasn't back yet. Damn it! They didn't have time for this! Sam and Dean were out there. They needed her help. Her and Cas. There was a blaring sound and she sighed. The "wardens" were coming. Gosh she hated them!

A doctor walked in, all smiles. He said to her, "Sorry for the tie down, but violence isn't something we take lightly."

He sat down and asked her, "Do you have a history of mental conditions?"

"Paranoia, delusions, anger management issues, religious sycosis, and I think they once said I had schizophrenia, but that was disproved. Oh, don't forget depression. There are more, but hey, that's enough right?" The Doctor was struck still.

"Well...uh." She glared at him.

"I'm fine now. I'm all healed up. Let me grab my angel and go." He cleared his throat.

" _Cas_ can't go anywhere. He's in a coma. You can't either. In your mental state, you're a hazard to everyone."

"Bullshit!"

"Now, ma'am-."

"Don't you ma'am me! I need to go help take down Lucifer and your tiny mind can't comprehend that!"

"Miss! You need help!"

"No! I need to get out of here!" She pulled up the restraints with a shout of rage and took over the doctor's mind.

"Now, go fill out my release forms and stay out of my way. Understand?" The Doctor nodded and slowly walked away. She sighed and brushed off the restraints. She took out all the IV's and other things. She got up and found her clothes in the corner of the room.

She fixed the stains and the holes in everything. She was amazed that her jacket and backpack still kept together. Magic was awesome. When Hermione was putting on her jacket, she noticed something on the inside of her right wrist.

It was a tattoo. An image of a scythe. Probably Death's. Oh yeah! She was marked now. Death was her father. Oh, that would be grand. She poked the image of the weapon and as soon as she touched it, a flash of black followed the lines of her veins and she pulled away. Great. It was attached to her entire system. There would be no getting rid of it even if she wanted to. She ignored it for the moment and continued on. She put her hair up and walked through the halls.

Hermione asked the doctor that she still had influence over, "Would you mind getting me some forms?" Turns out the answer was no, he didn't mind. Cool. She filled out Cas's guardianship forms and put down her number. Now they would call her when he woke up. She went over to his bed and placed healing spells and protection charms. He would be okay. Her broken angel.

Hermione stroked his withered feathers one more time and disappeared to Bobby's house. It couldn't have been that long. Could it?

She popped into his living room and shouted out, "Bobby!"

She heard him exclaim an angry, "Balls!" and then the sound of a pot dropping to the ground. She ran to the kitchen and smiled at seeing the grumpy man in a wheelchair. She snapped her fingers and the boiled soup he just dropped went back into the pot that was now on the stove. She threw off her backpack and jacket and hugged the older hunter. He hugged her back and laughed breathlessly.

"Hey there, kid." She stepped back from him and smiled brightly.

"Hey Bobby!" She stepped back from him and jumped around in excitement.

"I'm back! I'm new! Now where are my boys!" He held up his hands.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Calm down for a minute! Where were you? And where's Cas?" She shrugged.

"Some hospital down South I think. I don't know. Me and Cas were zapped pretty far. He's still at the hospital, but I gave them your number to call when he wakes up."

She leaned in close to him seriously and whispered, "His wings are so broken Bobby. Just, broken!" She stepped back and walked around getting her thoughts in order.

She took a breath and asked Bobby calmly, "Where are the boys?" He blinked and then pointed to a place on the map.

She nodded and said, "Can you call them?" Bobby nodded and picked up the phone. Sam picked up and Bobby passed the phone to Hermione.

"Hey, Sammy."

It sounded like he dropped the phone and shouted, "Hermione!" She could hear Dean and him fight over getting the phone. Seems like Dean won.

"Hermione?"

"The one and only, Dean. Where are you guys?"

"In the middle of nowhere. We're driving up to a swanky hotel. Meet us there?"

"I'll try. Give Sam my love."

"Will do." He hung up and her and Bobby looked for the route they were on and found the hotel. Hermione smiled to Bobby and kissed him on the cheek happily before apparating away with her jacket and backpack on. But, on her way there, she shifted her angel ring into a bracelet to hide her tattoo. She didn't need the boys knowing about that yet. It was still taking her a while to understand that _Death_ had _adopted_ her. It was just too weird.

She apparated to the road and saw the hotel. The Impala was parked in the parking lot and she could still see the boys inside. She ran to them in the pouring rain and knocked on the door while bouncing on her feet. She was just so excited to be back with them. Sam looked at her and quickly opened the door. He lifted the petite brunette in a hug and she laughed.

"I missed you too, Sammy!" Dean cleared his throat and stood with his arms out expectantly. She ran to him and pounced on him with a hug.

"I could never forget you, Dean!" He gave her one last squeeze and she smiled.

"Oh, boys! Hospitals are horrible. Never go to them! Trust me." The two chuckled and lead her inside through the rain that they barely noticed.

They entered the fancy hotel and just stared in awe. It really was nice. Dean told them happily, "Nice digs for a change." Hermione nodded and they walked to the front desk where a man was speedily typing on his computer. He wore a crisp red suit with a black bowtie. Every hair on him was perfectly in place. His skin was pale and his hair was black. He had this seemingly permanent smug smile on his face.

"Welcome to the Elysian Fields Hotel. How may I help you?"

"Uh, yeah. We'll take a room. Two beds. Under the name Manson Davey."

The man went to typing and Dean asked, "Have any food service?" The man smiled and pointed to the back.

"An all you can eat buffet." He leaned closer to Dean and said, "Best pie in the tri-state area." Dean smiled goofily.

"You don't say."

The man stood back and bit and pointed out, "You seem to have a bit of a shaving nick there, Sir." Dean touched his jaw and looked at the small amount of blood.

"Oh." The man swiftly pulled out a tissue and passed it to Dean.

The man then passed them a key and said, "Enjoy your stay." They nodded and walked to the room, but Hermione looked at the man for another moment. He was giving off some kind of strange energy. Not regular magic, but powerful. Hmm. He looked at her with a tilted head.

"Did you need something, Ma'am?" She blinked and shook her head and walked away. Maybe he just gave off a strong aura.

Hermione walked into the room where the brothers were staying and sat down heavily on the comfortable bed. They sat in front of her and she crossed her legs and took a breath.

"So….what happened?" The happy mood darkened.

Sam leaned forward and told her, "We didn't get Adam. The angels got to him first." Hermione dropped her forehead into her hands and groaned.

She whispered to herself, "Death is going to be pissed." The brothers didn't hear. Which was good.

Hermione looked up at them and asked, now suddenly exhausted, "Do we have any leads?"

"Well, we're following this biblical storm. It needs to lead somewhere." Hermione nodded. It was good start.

The three of them headed down to the buffet where Hermione literally drooled over all the food. The dessert table looked especially delectable. First, she grabbed a heaping load of Mac & Cheese and then some chicken. When she finished with that, she looked to the deserts where Dean was eyeing up every pie as if they were curvy women ready to be undone. She shook her head and pointed to the cream pies.

"Those look awesome." He nodded to her and grabbed two. She, however, scooped up some ice cream. Oh, it was her favorite dessert. She hadn't had it in a while.

Hermione went back to the table, just in time to see Dean being dismissed by an extremely hot woman with a posture that screamed, "Go away, I'm dangerous and I don't care." Hermione like the woman a lot. Just for not falling to Dean's charms.

He got back to the table and she asked with fake pity, "Strike out there, tiger?" He just glared and she took a bite of her ice cream with a smile. Sam was still reading and hadn't even touched his food. Hermione magically slammed the book shut and glared at him.

"Like my dear mother always said to me, the table is for eating, not reading." He raised an eyebrow. She just waved her spoon at him. "Enjoy the pampering before it's too late, Sammy. Work can wait a while." He sighed and ate the food she secretly warmed up.

They ate in silence for a bit, but then worked up a steady conversation. They quietly talked about their plans and tried to figure out how to find a lead. They needed Pestilence, then death, but Hermione had a pretty good feeling that Death wouldn't go out. Maybe he would tell them how to defeat Lucifer. He did say the devil had him bound on a leash. A force like Death wouldn't like that. Why didn't he tell her how to defeat Lucifer then? It would have been easy to just tell her while he told her about him adopting her….that didn't get any less weird.

They went up to their rooms and on the way, there was a couple going at it. Dean chuckled like a twelve year old boy and she just slapped him upside the head. They walked into their room and settled in.

Sam tried to give up his bed to her, but she just told him, "Sam, you're like eight feet tall. You won't fit on that tiny little couch." He saw the reason in it, but he didn't like it. Dean tried to give up his sleeping space too, but she just glared at him. That ended any argument.

They were all comfortable and relaxed when the brick wall in front of them began to break into the room. They were up and checking it out as soon as the second pound came. When they walked into the room, there was nothing there, but the screwed up bed and a wall that wasn't broken in the least. They surely hadn't imagined it. Dean knelt down on the floor and found a wedding ring.

"There is something seriously wrong about this" Dean told them. His two companions agreed. They headed down to the reception desk. Maybe this guy could give them some answers.

Dean walked up with them in tow and asked the man (they still hadn't bothered to ask his name or read the nametag) that was still fast typing, "Hi, uh, I wanted to ask...have you seen the couple that are, um, joined at the lips?"

"Mr and Mrs. Logan- the honeymooners? Yes. They checked out."

"Checked out?"

"Mmhmm. Just now."

Sam jumped in saying, "Really? It seemed like they were kinda in the middle of something."

Dean continued, "Yeah, it's a bit weird for honeymooners to check out with a missing wedding ring." He held up the ring.

The man said, "Oh dear," and picked it from Dean's hold. "I'll just put that in the lost and found. Don't you worry. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Uh, no. No, we're good."

The man smiled. "Super fantastic."

He walked away and Sam muttered, "Creepy."

Hermione spoke up, "There is always something particularly unsettling about someone who is too good at their job." The brothers completely agreed with her.

Dean looked to them and said, "All right. Sam, you follow Norman Bates there, and Hermione and I will scope out the place." They nodded and went in separate directions. Hermione checked one floor while Dean did the other. She looked around the rooms and swore there was just this presence of inhuman power. Just sitting on the edge of her consciousness. Honestly, she just wanted it to go the hell away, it was annoying. However, it wouldn't. So, there was obviously something there powerful and inhuman. Hermione kept looking around and finally just ended up in the kitchen. It was empty. Strange. Actually, the whole establishment seemed a bit bare now.

She looked around and found everything to be on place. Except a smell of coppery blood lingered in the air. She walked over to a boiling pot and lifted up the ladle. Eyes! Human eyes! She sighed and placed the eyes back in the soup. She felt a small prick of pain on her jaw and flinched. She felt the spot and there was a tiny amount of blood. She must have splashed some boiling blood on her face. Ewww. She wasn't squeamish, but something just felt extremely wrong about cooking the human body.

Hermione stepped away from the blood and looked towards the large freezer. Oh. If there was blood in the pot, she didn't want to imagine what was in the freezer. Well, she wouldn't have a chance to guess. Why? Because she was knocked out. Felt like a pot. It didn't matter. All she knew, was that it would take a few moments to come back.

Meanwhile, Dean had just told Sam about the frickin elephant he saw. "An elephant?"

"Yeah."

"Like. An elephant?"

"I'm talking full on Babar."

"Oh." They reached the lobby and found it to be empty. "This is just messed up." Dean agreed. Sam walked to the front door and wiggled the handle.

"Locked."

"So what, the roaches check in, but they don't check out?"

Sam began to think. "Think of how we got here. The detour on I-90, and the friggin' hurricane?"

"You're saying we were lead here?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying." The two decided to look around some more. That lead them to the kitchen. They instantly knew something was very _very_ wrong. First, you could smell blood. Second, there was a blood trail that just suddenly stopped.

Dean approached the boiling pot, chanting, "Please be tomato soup. _Please_ be tomato soup." He lifted up the ladle. Eyes. He quickly dropped the ladle back in. "Not tomato soup." Sam walked closer to the freezer. He jumped back when a man shown through the window, pounding on the door.

"Help us!" Oh shit! This was seriously a hotel from hell. He tried as fast as he could to pick the lock with Dean bothering him. Sam turned to glare at his brother, but saw two large men standing behind him. Dean paused.

"There's someone behind me isn't there?" His question was answered when the two were roughly grabbed and dragged through the hotel. They were then shoved into a room with about fifteen people. Probably less. But what caught the brothers eyes were the name tags. Names of Gods. Kali, Ganesh, Odin, and others. Even the perfect hotel manager had a nametag that had the name Mercury printed on it. Well they were screwed. The two were placed in chairs in front of the tables set up. Sam looked beside him to see Hermione actually chained down to a chair. Like, heavily chained. It looked like she was still out of it, but alive.

One of the people wearing a nametag labeled Baldur stood up and held his glass out to them. "Our guests of honor have arrived." Mercury wheeled out a cart with what looked to be human parts all decorated.

"Dinner...is served." He lifted up the silver rounded top and underneath was a cooked human head. Honestly, the brothers felt sick at the sight. It was just wrong.

Baldur stood stood and smiled charmingly to everyone. "Ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for coming. Although, in all my centuries, I never thought I'd see this. So many Gods under one roof." He stopped and they all clapped while Sam and Dean were freaking out.

"Gods?!"

Baldur continued, "Now, before we begin, ground rules need to be set. No slaughtering each other. Curb your wrath. Oh, and keep your hands off the local virgins. We're trying to keep a low profile here."

Sam whispered to Dean, "We are so...so screwed." Dean nodded in agreement.

Baldur went on again saying, "We all know why this meeting is taking place. The judeo-christian apocalypse is among us. The time to put our disagreements aside has come. We have to, to survive. Now, we have three very valuable bargaining chips with us today. Michael and Lucifer's vessels. As well as the immortal witch. Perfect weapon I do agree. The question is, what do we do with them. Anyone have ideas? Speak up, this is a safe room." Everyone was silent for a moment, but the God Zao Shen, stood up and said something in his native tongue. Dean had a vague impression that it was along the lines of "Kill them."

Ganesh spoke up, "Kill 'em? The angels will just bring them back! Plus, we can't even kill one of them!"

Odin laughed boisterously. "Calm down! This is no Armageddon! Everyone knows when the end of the world comes, the great serpent Jormungandr comes to light, and I myself will be eaten by a giant wolf!"

Zoa Shen sighed and said something in his native tongue. Odin growled.

"Oh yeah? And your beliefs are so much more realistic? The whole world is being carried around on the back of a giant turtle? What a stupid thought."

Zoa stood up and pointed an angry finger at Odin and spoke angry words in his language. Dean vaguely heard "Valhalla."

Odin slammed his fists on the table and ground out, "Don't speak to me that way, boy!" The two keep arguing which Sam and Dean thought was a perfect time to get away. Hermione could just zap away when she woke up. They were getting the hell out of there. Well, that was the plan until a chandelier dropped and shattered on the ground.

Hermione was jerked awake as Kali said with almost bored authority, "Stay." The brothers sat back down and Hermione looked at them.

"You were going to leave me?" The two avoided eye contact and she tried to move. She looked down and found herself chained. She looked at them, finding a magical signature. She blinked and followed the Strand of dark red magic. All the way to Kali. Sam and Dean were also magically tethered. She could see the magic keeping them there. Hermione growled and a piece of the table cloth caught fire in her magical anger. Kali just smirked and the other Gods smiled.

Odin laughed boisterously. "Let us not bid the witch! We should keep her. She would do well in a fight against the angels." Everyone actually seemed to be considering it.

"Oi! I'm not some object you can pawn off!"

Kali nodded. "Yes. She's already taken." Hermione glared at the woman while the other Gods looked to Kali in confusion. The woman said no more.

Kali stood from her seat and stated with pride, "We have to fight. The Archangels only understand the way of violence. This will end in blood. It is us, or them."

Mercury spoke up respectfully, obviously afraid of Kali. "With all due respect, ma'am, we haven't even tried talking to them." Hermione kind of liked this Mercury fellow. Atleast he tried to work things out without going straight to violence. Though, the man began to choke up blood. Hermione glared at the woman doing it and flexed her hand. Mercury stopped feeling the pain of it, but the blood kept coming.

Baldur said in an almost casual tone, "Kali…"

Mercury stopped choking and Kali said to him, "Who asked you?" Mercury sent a secretive thankful glance to the witch and she pretended not to see. Maybe he could help them out. The doors behind them slammed open and a man walked in. His hair was blonde and his face was almost baby like in her opinion. He had a skip in his step and just an arrogant air around him.

"Can't we all just get along?"

Sam and Dean began to say something, but the man silenced them. Hermione noticed something about him. A shimmering behind his back. The way he walked too. His back was almost slouched forward. Like there was a weight there. What could do that?

"Sam, Dean, good to see ya! In the wrong place at the wrong time again I see?"

Baldur stood and almost spat, "Loki."

Loki mocked him, "Baldur. So. I guess my invitation got lost in the mail?"

Baldur ground out, "Why are you here?"

"To have a little chat about the apocalypse. But, first things first." He turned to the Winchesters and said, "The adults need to have a conversation. Check ya later." He snapped his fingers and the two disappeared. Gabriel then walked over to Hermione and she just looked at him oddly. She was still stuck on his shimmering back.

She asked quietly, "Why do you glitter?" His eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

He laughed it off and said, "Well, it's my sparkling personality. Can I trust you to not destroy the place, Posh Spice?" She narrowed her eyes, but nodded. He unchained her and the gods tried to stop it, but she just stood there in front of them and smiled. Gabriel opened the door for her and she smiled thankfully.

She leant in and whispered to him, "Thank you." He nodded and she turned one last time to the Gods. "Baldur. I'd just like to say, pink hair really does suit you."

He looked confused, "Pink hair?" He felt the top of his head as the rest of the Gods laugh. Even Kali found it to be a little amusing. He screamed in complete shock and she ran away cackling.

"Check ya later, Loki!" Oh, pulling a prank in front of the trickster god. It was actually on the bucket list she threw away when she was stabbed in the heart with the demon blade. No need for a bucket list if your life was eternal.

Hermione walked into the room where she could hear the Winchesters fighting.

She apparated into the room and shouted over them, "Boys! Stop snarling. Your referee is here." They looked at her.

"Where the hell were you?!"

"Oh, Loki let me go. Then I turned Baldur's hair pink. The look on his snobbish face." They just stared dumbfounded.

"You….pranked a God!"

A voice spoke up behind them, "Yes she did, and it was hilarious!" He walked over to her and placed his arm over her shoulder. "Let me tell you, missy. That was so juvenile, it was gut busting. Baldur was about to cry I tell you, honest!"

Hermione cracked up laughing and Dean just asked his brother, "Are they serious?"

Sam replied, "Well, we did pick her up from the mental hospital. And Gabriel is….Gabriel." Hermione stopped laughing and pushed him in front of her.

"Gabriel! The shimmering, the weight! They're wings!" Gabriel turned around and placed a hand over her mouth.

"Shhh. That's a secret darlin'! I'm in witness protection!" Hermione just stood there with the most pitiful look.

"Show me please." He seemed to be weighing his options.

"Fine! Only because you broke down big baddie Baldur." He stretched out his wings which shimmered into view. They were gold. Just bright gold with the softest feathers.

"Oh...oh. They are stunning! Nothing on Cas's, but still beautiful." His wings snapped back and disappeared.

"Castiel? Really?"

"Mmhmm! They were white before, but now they're stained black and broken." Gabriel winced.

"How broken?" She conjured a twig and snapped it in half. Gabriel shivered at the thought.

"I feel bad for the fellow."

Dean spoke up. Behind them, "Can everything just pause for a second! Gabriel, why are you here? Why are you helping and for goodness sakes, why can Hermione see angel wings!?" Gabriel stood up straight and went on to answer his questions.

"I'm here to save your asses and not get every God in here killed, I'm helping you cuz I got a thing for Kali, and Hermione dear can see my wings because she has a messed up enough mind to actually _see_ what others can't. Plus, she can actually see magic. Which helps. Anything else?"

Hermione blinked. "Am I really that crazy?"

He patted her head. "I'm afraid so."

She just blinked again and nodded. "Whatever."

Gabriel walked over to the two boys. "Look, those guys down there are either going to dust you, or use you as bait. Either way, you're uber boned."

He went and pointed to Hermione. "And you, ma dear, they want to weaponize. Though, with the dark deadly aura you give off, I'm guessing they can't and I'm guessing you don't want to talk about it."

"You are guessing correctly."

He swiveled back to the brothers who just couldn't keep up. "Look, you three are under Kali's thumb by a blood spell. Me, being the devilishly handsome savior I am, am going to break the spell and get you out of here before Luci decides to crash the party."

"We're taking the hors d'oeuvres in the freezer with us."

"No can do. It'll be hard enough getting you mooks outta here."

"Then we'll tell all you angel hating pals that Loki is actually Gabriel."

"I'll take away your voices."

"We'll write it down."

"Then I'll chop off your hands."

"Then people will be asking, "Why are you guys runnin' around with no hands?""

Gabriel frowned deeply. "Fine!" He turned around and disappeared. Hermione looked at the two boys and put her hands on her hips.

"Don't think I forgot about you guys trying to leave me with all those Gods. We will talk about the magic of friendship when we get home." They rolled their eyes in unison and Hermione smirked. They were like bigger versions of Fred and George Weasley. With a lot more drama, fighting, and monster hunting. The three headed out and Hermione decided against using magic. Kali would know. She would come straight to them. So, they passed through the lobby and had to hide when the Gods decided to snack on one of their main courses. They all split up.

Hermione would be lookout, Sam would pick the lock and Dean was going to escort everyone out. While Hermione was looking out, there was a voice beside her.

"You've got Ganesh and Zao coming." She startled and looked towards Mercury.

She gripped his suit and told him seriously, "You see Mercury, I like you. You haven't eaten one person so far and Kali tried to kill you. You're just a serving boy. Lucifer is coming so I suggest you get the hell out of here. The man at the front desk is always first." He gulped and nodded.

"Thanks for the save by the way." He then sped away and she knew she would never see the speedster again. Hermione quickly walked into the kitchen and tried to warn the brothers, but they were already being dragged away. She didn't notice Odin sneaking up behind her. She finally felt the danger, but it was too late. He got her in a lock and she just couldn't do anything.

He laughed and said to her with mirth, "Feisty little thing aren't you?" She tried to get away and wanted so bad to just blast his face off, but she couldn't. He was a god. She was a witch. It wouldn't work. He stroked her hair and she fought away.

"I still think you'd be a perfect weapon."

She growled and said, "Already taken."

"Oh, and who has you?"

"Death."

Odin paused. "You lie." It was her turn to laugh.

She said, "Look under the bracelet." He did so, and she swore she could _hear_ him pale.

The man quickly took hold of her again and said, "Fine. You're still coming with me." She shouted and was dragged away. Well, atleast they would stop trying to sell her off. Hermione was roughly placed in a seat by the Winchesters. Gabriel was there too. Sitting on a chair with a _very_ upset Kali.

Hermione looked to them, "So, how's the plan going?"

Sam sarcastically replied, "Oh, just dandy."

Kali looked to all the Gods. "So, it seems the trickster has tricked us."

Gabriel desperately said, "Kali."

She ignored his protests and reached into his inner coat pocket. "You have something I want."

She slowly slid the angel blade from him and said with a trust broken voice, "An Archangel's blade. From the Archangel, Gabriel." The entire room of Gods gasped when his wings were shown. Those beautiful golden wings were drooped in shame.

He looked around. "Okay! So I have wings, like Kotex. But I'm still right about Lucifer."

Kali ground out, "He's a lying spy."

"I'm not a spy, I'm a runaway. I know my brother, you can't beat him! I've skipped ahead-."

"Skipped ahead for your story. Not ours. Westerners, I swear. The sheer arrogance. You believe you are the only ones on earth? You pillage and butcher in your God's name, but you are not the only religion and he is not the God. And now you think the planet is yours to rip apart? You're wrong. We were here first and if anyone gets to end this world….It's me."

Kali positioned the blade over his heart and whispered, "I'm sorry." She then impaled him with the blade. He sparked blue and then Kali twisted the blade. Blinding light poured from his eyes and mouth. In an instant, he was dead. Except, there was something wrong with the death. Castiel had told her that when an angel is killed, their wings dissolve and make an imprint on upon the earth. Gabriel wings were still there. Hanging limp. So…..he was faking? She couldn't let the Gods know that. She put a little emotion into her shock.

Kali held the blade and turned to the Gods. "See. They can die. We can kill Lucifer." Dean seemed to close his eyes in preparation for doing something stupid. And he did.

He stood up and spoke to the group. "Alright you primitive screwheads, listen up."

Sam looked at him in shock. "Are you out of your mind?"

Dean tilted his head. "Probably." He walked up the table slowly and began his speech that made Hermione and Sam cringe at every word.

"On any other given day I'd be doing my best to kill you lot of filthy murdering chimps. But, hey. Desperate times."

He turned to the table of alcohol and Hermione winced. Why was he insulting them?

"So, even though I'd love nothing more than to slit your throats, you dicks. I'm ganna help you." His courage for the speech was wavering as he poured himself a drink.

"I'm ganna help you ice the devil." He turned to them, drink in hand.

"You want Lucifer, and we want him too. Me and Sam can get him here."

Kali, now interested, "How?"

Dean took a sip of his drink and said, "First, you let those main courses go. Then, we talk. We can either gank the devil together. Or you lame ass bitches can eat me."

He swallowed a big sip of his beverage. "Literally." The gods all looked at eachother and then Kali nodded.

"Be swift." The three got up, but Kali pointed to Hermione and Sam. "You two, stay." Dean paused, but Sam and Hermione waved him on. He left and Kali told the others to stand guard. Baldur stayed.

"So, how do you summon Lucifer?"

Sam nervously said, "Well, I uh. I just need some stuff squeegeed from my ribs and he'll come runnin."

"It would be easier to just break them."

Sam nervously chuckled. Before they began the process of removing the words Cas carved in Sam's ribs, Dean busted in and was about to say something when the lights flickered.

Sam whispered, "It's him."

"How?"

"Does it matter? Shazzam us outta here would ya Herms!" She looked around the room. It was dusted with black magic.

"I can't."

The front door swung open and there stood Lucifer with a cocky grin plastered on his face. He wasn't what Hermione expected. Of course the Winchesters told her what he looked like, but she didn't expect him to look so…..normal.

He walked towards them and said to her, "Of course you can't. You didn't say mother may I." He looked to the brothers. "Sam, Dean, good to see you again." Hermione turned to see an angry Baldur. He was beyond angry. He was wrathful.

Kali said in her almost emotionless voice, "Baldur. Don't." The man ignored her and approached Lucifer with boldness.

"You think you own the planet? Who gives you the right?!" Lucifer then stuck his hand straight through Baldur's chest. The man stooped and choked.

Lucifer whispered, "No one gives us the right. We take it." He threw Baldur to the ground and Kali began to engulf in a burning flame of vengence. She threw the flames at Lucifer, and Hermione being the closest couldn't get away. She threw up a shield while the boys hid behind a table. When Kali finished, Lucifer stood before them, uninjured. He hit Kali with an uppercut which sent her smashing to the floor.

Lucifer was about to stomp Kali's skull in, but Hermione quickly blasted him back. Except, there was another force doing it too. She looked to see Gabriel standing there with his smug little grin and angel blade out.

"Luci. I'm home." He picked up Kali and held his blade to Lucifer. "Uh -uh."

He shouted to the brothers, "Boys. Get her outta here." They did as he asked and Lucifer raised a brow to Hermione.

She just looked to Gabriel and asked, "Do you guys need some one on one bonding time?" It made Gabriel chuckle a little and Lucifer scowled. Hermione was scared out of her wits, but she had faced Death, Snape, Voldemort, and even threw it down with the madness of Bellatrix. Lucifer would _not_ intimidate her.

Gabriel walked around and Hermione felt like she was watching a scene from a movie.

Gabriel inhaled steadily and said to his brother, "Lucifer, you're my brother. And I love you. But you are just a great big bag of dicks." Lucifer looked affronted and Hermione had to stop the applause she wanted to give out.

"What did you just say to me?"

Gabriel mocked him, "Just look at yourself! Boo hoo! Daddy was mean to me, so I'm gonna smash up all his toys."

"Watch your tone." Lucifer stepped forward, but Gabriel held the blade up higher.

"Play the victim all you want, but me and you, we know the truth. Dad loved you most. When the new baby came home, you couldn't handle it. So all of this is just one big temper tantrum. It's time to grow up."

Lucifer stepped forward once more, trying to reason with his brother. "Gabriel, if you're doing this for Michael-."

"Screw Michael. If he were here I'd shiv his ass too."

That made Lucifer angry. Hermione could tell that to them, she wasn't even there anymore. Good, that's exactly what she wanted. She disillusioned herself and watched. She knew they could still see an outline of her, but Lucifer wasn't paying attention. Gabriel discretely winked to her as Lucifer accused him of being disloyal.

"Oh, I'm loyal. Loyal to the humans. Dad was right about them. They are better than us." Lucifer was in outrage.

"They are broken! Flawed! Abortions!"

"Damn right they're flawed! But a lot of them try to do better. I'm in the game now brother, and I'm not on either of your sides. I'm on theirs."

"Brother. Please. I know you think you're doing the right thing, But I know where your heart truly lies." A second Gabriel appeared behind him and Hermione worked fast. As the blade came down to smite Gabriel, Hermione put herself in the way completely. She shone into existence and Lucifer was shocked and raving mad. The fake Gabriel disappeared and then the real one disappeared.

It was then her and Lucifer. Why did she save the trickster angel? All they did was bond over a single prank. Lucifer growled and dug the blade in further. She shouted in pain and Lucifer threw her back.

"Why won't you just die you filthy witch!" She hadn't had time to heal when he went up to her and tossed her against the wall like a rag doll. She was still alive. She began to laugh. She looked up at him with a weak smirk.

"Go ahead. Keep bitchin' you little baby. Just let out all that anger about your daddy." He shouted in rage and snapped her leg in half. She screamed, but the mad giggles came again.

"You're a child! A tiny child looking for attention!" He broke every bone she could feel and all she could do was laugh. She spat up blood on his shoes and looked at him once more.

"Gabriel may be your brother, but I know the truth." He punched her straight in the jaw and her head snapped back.

"You're just a boy who wants his father's love."

He shouted in sadness and rage, "Shut up!" She clutched onto his shirt and smiled wickedly.

"And daddy won't love you anymore. You're sad and alone and all you want is for your father to rescue you and tell you he forgives you. For him to tell you it'll be alright." He screeched inhumanly and reached his hand through her chest and around her beating heart.

Before he tore her heart out of her chest she whispered, "But daddy won't come for you because he loves you no longer." Lucifer tore her apart. She was everywhere. Her intestines on the tables, her bones scattered across the floor. The remainder of her body looked like it had been torn up by a bear. When he was finally done, he disappeared from the hotel with eyes full of despairing tears. Lucifer felt pain. He felt it emotionally stab his heart. He just wanted the pain to go away. The witch was right. Every single word and he loathed her for it.

Everything was silent. After a few moments, a sad Gabriel came back into the room. He looked at the carnage. A torn up body. Guts and limbs. All that lay intact was a head. Hermione's head. But, it was slowly regenerating. Her body parts were being called back and slowly recreating Hermione Granger. Gabriel helped the process. He helped piece her back together.

After it all, he snapped his fingers and she was reclothed and all that was missing was her heart. He slowly placed the organ in her her chest and watched her skin tie together. He saw the scars come back and he traced them. They were all so intricate in her skin. Each saying a spell of mass destruction. It was meant to kill her, but it didn't. It most likely had to do with the scythe tattoo that wrapped black chains around her being. The chains began to infuse into her skin once again and he knew she was awakening.

He had never had someone fight for him. Literally be torn apart for him. She went through that much suffering, just to save his ungrateful ass.

Hermione slowly opened her eyes and gasped for breath. Gabriel grabbed her and calmed the panicking witch down as much as he could. She finally controlled her breathing and didn't move for almost five minutes. Her breathing hitched and he could feel her beginning to break down further. Gabriel could never replace the angel he knew she was so fond of, but he had to try for the woman that saved him. He spread out his golden wings and wrapped them around the two. She lifted a shaking hand to the golden feathers and stroked them.

She sniffled, "I want my angel back." He nodded.

"Cas is one lucky angel." She didn't seem to hear him.

He told her softly, "Thank you."

She moved her almost black colored eyes to him and said, "You're welcome." She went back to stroking his wings. Gabriel could now see how truly broken this girl was. Actually, without her list of mental issues, she would just be a shell of a woman. Never moving. Just staring in horror at the world. She began to fall into a sleep and Gabriel held her. He knew from then on that Hermione would be an ally and a friend.

Gabriel dove into her unconscious mind for a moment and found what he was looking for. He quickly disappeared to the hospital he wanted and walked in unseen. He walked straight to the room with the angel that had the broken wings. He wasn't awake, but Gabriel would fix that. He slowly set Hermione down on a chair and went over to the broken angel. He touched his head gently and Castiel began to heal. His wings were still broken beyond repair, but at least he was awake and had some angel juice. Not a lot. Just enough to get better. Castiel looked at the Archangel confused.

"Gabriel?" He nodded. Castiel looked around the room and spotted Hermione, curled up in a chair. He could see the tormented air around her.

He said softly, "Hermione." Gabriel nodded and looked Castiel straight in the eye.

"She just saved me from a one way ticket to an angel's grave and was literally torn apart by Lucifer." Castiel felt something settle in his stomach. Was it sadness? A desperate need to make Hermione feel better?

Gabriel continued on saying, "Look, you're lucky to have someone like her so fond of you. I know you may not understand this yet, but she's special. Take care of her. Broken mind and all." Gabriel then disappeared while leaving a single golden feather with Hermione.

Castiel sighed. He did understand. Hermione was special to him. He just couldn't sort out the emotions. He wasn't used to them. He slowly moved from the bed without alerting any machines and silently slid Hermione over to the hospital bed. With the last of his angel strength, he lifted her to the bed with him and made her comfortable like he did when she had a nightmare. Castiel held on to his witch. And he wouldn't ever let go.


	12. Chapter 12

**Heyo! So. Last chapter was action packed! I think we can slow it all down a bit. We're getting to the end of the season! What will happen with Sam? Will Adam be saved? I don't know because I haven't decided yet! So, I guess it'll be surprise for both of us! Review and ENJOY!**

* * *

 **Chapter 12**

It was that same black abyss. The same two pieces of rolling film. She didn't pay attention to that. She just stared into the darkness. She felt empty. Nothing seemed straight. She knew what happened. She remembered the fear of it all. How she stared a raging monster in the eyes and told him truths that would crush anyone.

It crushed her. She thought she was invincible, but she wasn't. Her body would always heal, but her mind would always be broken. And….it hurt.

A familiar voice spoke up behind her. "I apologize." She didn't look towards him. She just kept staring.

"For?" She heard him sigh and walk up next to her. His steps echoed in the darkness of her mind.

"For not saving you." Hermione swallowed.

"You've already saved me once."

"Yes. I suppose."

She looked at his bony features and asked, "What are you here for?" Death looked very uncomfortable. Of course, he stood stoic like he had before, but his thin fingers were fidgeting with his cane.

"I wanted to make sure you were going to be alright." She looked back towards the films.

"Why would you care. I'm only a single person throughout the entirety of the universe. A peice of bacteria in a petri dish you can throw away whenever you please. Why should you care about me?"

He looked towards her and said with the same straight face, "Because you are my responsibility now. That mark, it means you are my own. I may be a ruthless force but I take care of my own."

She peered at him and asked desperately, "Why did you have to pick me? Why couldn't I have just died?"

He placed a hesitant hand on her shoulder and told her, "Because out of everyone on the universe, you were the only one strong enough to do it." She could feel herself want to break down. Oh, how much she just wanted to cry and hug _Death_. She felt the connection. The protectiveness. It was all there.

"I don't feel strong."

He released her and said,"You are. I wouldn't have claimed you if you weren't." She couldn't handle it anymore. She just launched herself at the only comfort she could see at the moment and clung to him. Death had never felt the need to comfort anyone. He had never had trust thrown his way by anyone, but God and his brothers. But here was this witch that he claimed for God's benefit.

He chose her out of everyone. Oh yes. He had passed over super powered beings and war heroes. He had passed over intellects and creatures of virtue. He had skipped all of that for this emotionally broken witch. Why? Well, with all his age and wisdom he didn't know. God told him it was because destiny foretold it. Death found that to be rubbish, but it was starting to seem a lot more plausible.

He hesitantly wrapped his arms around the girl. He was Death itself. He shouldn't be feeling like a parent seeing their child come home from school with a bruised eye. But he did. That was exactly how he felt. He felt like he wanted tear Lucifer apart for hurting the girl. Molecule by molecule he wanted to make Lucifer suffer. The spoiled brat would be dealt with. He _would_ be dealt with.

Hermione released the man and blushed. "I'm sorry. I'm having trouble keeping myself in check at the moment." He tilted his head and wiped the single tear on her cheek away. He then disappeared and she was alone again. All alone with her nightmares.

Hermione slowly slid her eyes open and looked around to where she was. Bright yellow walls, white floor tiles, and crappy decor. Hospital. Another fucking hospital. Except, she didn't feel that it was her being kept in the bed. There was a breathing on her neck and arms wrapped around her stomach. She slowly turned to look behind her and found it to be none other then Castiel.

His wings were still broken, but she could sense the new liveliness from him. Which, she had no doubt in her mind was the work of Gabriel. He really was a nice angel.

Hermione carefully removed herself from Castiel's grip and stood up. She looked to his sleeping form and frowned. Angels didn't sleep. Castiel was deeply broken. Almost all of his Grace was gone and what was left was barely enough to keep him going.

A nurse walked in and smiled kindly at Hermione. "Mrs. Granger?" Hermione peered up at the name. She had been going by Lovegood. It had been a time since she was called Granger. That's when she noticed a few things. First, the nurse shouldn't even know she was there, she never checked in. Second, she called Hermione, _Mrs_. Granger. Hermione chocked up both to being Gabriels doing. Hermione nodded to the nurse for her to continue.

"I would like to inform you that Castiel will be fine. All he needs is some rest until he can leave." Hermione nodded and the nurse gave her release forms to sign. Hermione did so quickly and the nurse left to grab his belongings. Hermione looked to the side table and found a feather. A bright golden feather from the wings of Gabriel. Hermione smiled and picked it up. He did say he was sentimental. So, she took the feather and placed it over her bracelet. She only used pure magic to do this. No spell, no known method, just a thought and determination. The feather ingrained itself onto her angel blade bracelet.

She looked at the finished product and smiled. There it was. The intricate golden feather permanently apart of her gifts. A disguised angel blade from her angel that gives her safety and love. A feather from a true friend that helped her when she was weak. Finally, a marking of a scythe from her knew father. Hermione frowned. Her whole family wasn't there. She needed things from Dean, Sam and Bobby. She pushed it away. It would come some day. For now, she had their trust and their love. They were family.

After a day or so, Hermione could take Castiel back to Bobby's he was still weak, but he could walk. She hadn't wanted to apparate at first, but he told her he would be fine. She eventually believed him. The two apparated right next to Bobby's couch which is where she laid him. He was shaking a bit, but nothing too serious. Bobby was on the phone and hadn't heard them come in.

Hermione set Castiel comfortably and he told her seriously, "I am an angel of the lord. You do not need to dote on me." Hermione just smiled and smoothed his hair back.

"You are a barely an angel at all at the moment and I will dote on you whenever I please. Now shush and rest up. I'm pretty sure that the boys will need you soon enough." He grumbled like child not getting his way, but his eyes drooped and he was asleep within the minute. Hermione smirked easily and slowly treaded into the kitchen to hear Bobby hang up the phone. He wheeled his chair around and spotted her.

She smiled a small smile and said, "We need to stop meeting like this."

He stuttered out, "Where have you been?"

"Well, I uh, saved Gabriel back at the congregation of the gods. Then, Lucifer tore me to shreds and I ended up in the hospital with an on the mend mostly human Castiel that has a bad case of the broken wings." Bobby just blinked owlishly and she smiled.

"Would you like me to repeat?" He shook his head and called her over to him. Even in the wheelchair, he gave a mean hug.

He whispered to her seriously, "Stop dyin' kid." She chuckled.

"I don't think that's something I can do." He released her and she asked him. "So, where are the boys today?"

Bobby grumbled, "Off searching some cases of swine flu. Pestilence is afoot." She nodded.

"Care to tell me where they are?" Bobby shook his head with a determined look.

"The boys can handle this. You're staying right here!" She crossed her arms.

"Bobby-"

"Don't Bobby me. You've been going nonstop since the town back in Demon Central. Take a day to just relax." Hermione tried to stay firm, but she was tired. She wanted a nap and some new cloths and some food. She really had been running on empty.

Hermione finally gave in and said, "Only if you make some of your chili." He smiled.

"Deal." Hermione grabbed her backpack and ran up the steps. She took a long hot shower and dressed in fresh cloths. Short sleeves actually. She felt a lot more comfortable around everyone. She kept her jeans and decided to go with her mismatched socks. Her hair was placed in a French braid and then pinned in a style that kept it off her neck. Hermione went down to the living room and sat down on the couch with a completely non hunting or biblical related book.

Castiel curled up to make room for her unknowingly and she smiled at the sleeping angel. The scent of Bobby's cooking wafted into the living room and she could feel herself almost drool. It was hours later and almost night time when Bobby finished the food. He wheeled a bowl into the living room and Hermione hungrily ate two helpings. After, her eyes drooped when she was almost done reading. She ended up falling asleep. Bobby looked on with a soft gaze.

The next day, Hermione was rested and ready for action. Castiel was still lagging so she told him to stay behind. He didn't like it, but he really didn't have a choice when he passed out on the couch again. Hermione forced Bobby to tell her where the boys were staying. She just apparated to the safe house they were in at the moment and found it to be silent.

She had only been gone a total of three days. Two at the hospital and one at Bobby's. Or was it five? She had no clue. Hermione walked around and heard distant voices. They were arguing. But…..there were three voices. One with an accent she couldn't place. It seemed to be faded. Hermione looked around the corner and found Sam and Dean, packing a bag while a man in a long black coat snarkily talked to them.

Hermione scoffed loudly and said, "Oh I get it. Let the brit save your asses, get torn up by Lucifer and replace her. I take a few days off and you already find another snarky accented bastard?" They all quickly turned to her and she waved at the man.

"You are?"

He held out a hand to her and she took it. "Crowley."

She shook his hand. "Hermione." She released his hand and looked to the silent boys in front of her.

"So what can this guy do better than me? Magic, driving, jokes?" Sam coughed and Crowley decided to answer.

"I can help get Pestilence." Hermione looked at him wide eyed.

"That's a hefty helping of promises. How are you going to do that?" He then told her of the Horseman's stable boy and that they were going to capture him.

Hermione looked to them all and asked, "What's the arguing about then? Seems solid."

Sam ground out, "Crowley says I can't go and Dean agrees."

"Well what on earth for?"

Crowley answered, "His anger is off the charts." Hermione raised a brow towards Sam and looked at him in disappointment.

"Last time I checked Sammy, there wasn't a wraith yanking your chains." He looked down bashfully and she patted him on the shoulder. "Will you stay put if I go?" Sam seemed to think about it and nodded. She clapped her hands once with a smile and turned to Crowley and Dean.

"Fancy that boys. My schedule is completely free. Looks like I'm coming along." She apparated out to the Impala, leaving a very intrigued Crowley.

He opened his mouth to ask, but Dean beat him with the answer, "Yes, she is always like that. Now let's go before she drives off."

The three of them arrived at Niveus Pharmaceuticals. Crowley told them the plan and Dean had on his salesman face. However, Hermione could see a kink in the plan. Though, she trusted that Crowley knew what he was doing. After all, making deals was kinda his thing.

Dean pulled out binoculars and looked at all the people. "Demons."

Crowley said, "No. Humans. All the baddies are up top."

Dean sighed and put his binoculars down. "We should look for a back entrance." He turned to see Crowley gone. Hermione tapped his shoulder and pointed to the large glass window. There was Crowley, slitting a guards throught. Dean quickly got out of the car.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Hermione just walked slowly behind them. This was interesting. She kinda liked this Crowley fellow. Obviously not the killing, but he was handy.

Hermione walked in behind her boy to see a dumbfounded Dean.

"You killed them?" The demon sighed and continued to pull Dean in the direction of the elevator.

"Just remember what I told you. You really have to sell it." The doors began to close, but Dean held them open.

"You aren't coming?"

"Are you kidding? There are demons up there." The doors closed as Dean gave her the most pitiful look. She just girlishly waved and looked to the obviously smug demon.

"Shall I get my healing potions then?" He chuckled and the two began to clear up the bloody Guards mess.

"Nothing gets past you, does it?"

Hermione smirked. She asked him when he pulled a bag with a printed sigil on it, "What's with that?"

"Oh, this? It's a demon trap. Modified for our specific uses." He then pulled out a crowbar. "This is for bashing in his brains. Questions?" Hermione nodded.

"Why didn't you want Sam to come?" Crowley sighed almost annoyed.

"They got history. Mainly, Sam not knowing his best buddy was a demon through college." Hermione slowly nodded. "Anything else?" She nodded again.

"Got another crowbar?" He smirked maliciously and threw her one.

"Never leave home without a spare." Hermione gripped it and the two got into position. It was only a few moments later when they heard the elevator begin to move. Suddenly, Dean came out, looking around for something suspicious. Hermione winced. There just had to be a few broken ribs there.

A man then came out of the elevator and blasted Dean away.

"You know Dean. This has been fun." The man didn't get another word in before Crowley shoved the bag over his head. The two promptly smashed his head in with the crowbars. It felt good for Hermione. Almost therapeutic. No, she wasn't going to go smash in people's heads, but maybe a demon every once in awhile. Hermione vanished the crowbars and rolled back her shoulders.

"Thanks Crowley. I needed that." He inclined his head to her and Dean got up.

"What was that?!"

Crowley replied, "Oh, that was the plan. The perfectly played out plan."

"He didn't want the rings! He wanted me!"

"Imagine the surprise on your face." Dean tilted his head in angry confusion. "The complete shock of misinformation. You can't fake that!" Den gripped his head in a headache and Hermione took pity on the boy.

"C'mon. Let's fix you up so Sam doesn't bash in _my_ head." Crowley took Brady to the car while Hermione made Dean chug some potions and she fixed his cracked bones. She remembered the first time she had brewed brewed a potion in Bobby's house. He was so confused and just ended up saying some snarky comments about how much of a witch she was.

"So. You're all buddies with a demon now?" Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.

"Last time I checked, you two were the ones with the plan to trust him." Dean groaned.

"Do you have to be friends with _everybody_?" Hermione chuckled.

"It's just my sunny disposition I guess." Hermione vanished the blood from his face and the two finally got in the car.

When they got back to the safe house. Dean and Crowley couldn't even look at each other. All because they couldn't agree on whether Sam could control his temper or not. Hermione doubted he could. That boy was a mess!

They got in with Brady. Crowley stopped Sam for the moment and Hermione sat back to watch her Winchester Entertainment. It was pretty dramatic. Sam seeing Brady, Brady winding him up, and Dean having to push him away. Hermione just walked around and watched. In a way, she was an outsider. Hermione hadn't been born to the family drama. So, she chose to stay out of it. Mostly.

While Crowley went in to talk with their catch, Hermione decided that she wanted to check on Cas. See how he was doing. So, without warning she apparated to Bobby's house. It seemed like he wasn't home, but she was pretty sure he was just upstairs. Cas was snoozing on the couch. She slowly shook his shoulder and his eyes crept open. He saw her and a small smile appeared on his face. She helped him sit up.

Castiel groaned and asked, "How is the hunt?" Hermione hummed and sat next to him.

"The brothers are having their annual dramafest." The angel looked at her confused and she clarified, "They're fighting." Castiel nodded in understanding.

He suddenly took hold of her hand and asked her softly, "Are you okay?" She sighed and squeezed his hand.

"Are you?" He dropped his head and his wings drooped too.

"I am mostly human. My wings are broken. I am not doing so well." Hermione nodded and rubbed circles into his hand. His shoulders relaxed and she smiled softly to him.

"Everything'll be alright, Cas. I know it will." He didn't respond. The two sat in companionable silence.

Hermione left Castiel after telling him she would be back in a little while. He just rolled his eyes. It was something she wished he hadn't picked up.

Hermione apparated back to the safe house and was a bit surprised to see Dean being held captive in the bathroom and Sam off probably trying to kill Brady. She was done. She was _done_ with these two! Hermione apparated to the bathroom and grabbed Dean. She blasted down the door and bound him to a chair. She then apparated to Sam. She bound and silenced the raging man.

She said to Brady as she grabbed Sam to apparate away, "Sorry to a ruin the fun, lovey. Baby here needs some sense knocked into his tiny anger filled brain." Hermione then apparated away and bound Sam to a chair across from Dean. She grabbed a chair and sat looking on.

Before removing the silencing spell, she said, "Listen here you brats. We're already dealing with one rampaging toddler. We don't need two more. You forced me to play my mother card and here it is. You two will sit here until _all_ your issues are worked out. Every single dirty secret and angry complaint. Got it?" They didn't nod to her, but she released the silencing spell anyways.

It took a moment, but soon there began to be a flow of anger and hurt. Dean saying how Sam needed to calm down and Sam saying that he was. It dug deeper and deeper until they got to very heart wrenching truths. How Dean didn't trust Sam and how Sam just wanted to stop being coddled. She decided to leave them alone. Crowley came back an hour later and looked to her sipping a cup of tea.

"They arguing again?" She shook her head.

"Finally working things out with a little help. Think whatever news you have can wait until they start begging to hug it out?" Crowley seemed to think about it and eventually sat down. She conjured him a cup and poured him some tea. They clinked cups and sat and waited. It was a long while later when the other room went silent. The witch and demon were having a nice chat about how to make hell more efficient for better demons. Hermione felt a bit stupid for giving Crowley advice on how to take over and rule the underworld, but it was whatever.

Hermione vanished what drinks they had on the table and went into the room with Sam and Dean. They both had tears streaming down their faces, but they sat straighter. They could actually look at each other in the eyes again. She crossed her arms smugly.

"You guys wanna hug it out?" Despite it all, they both gave her the double bitch face. She mock winced. "I'm hurt guys. Really." Hermione snapped her fingers and they were unbound. "Sorry to play Mama Winchester, but did you work things out?" The two begrudgingly nodded and she released them. They were both cross with her, but she could care less.

A while later, Crowley worked his crossroads magic on Brady. She hadn't heard a word of it, for she went back to check on Cas, but when she got back a few moments later Brady was sure flustered. Hermione looked to Crowley confused and he smugly put an arm around a bloody Brady.

"Say hello to my lover." Hermione blinked and waved.

"Hello Crowley's lover." The boys cracked up laughing and Hermione had no clue what she did that was so funny. Crowley explained to her that he was on Lucifer's forever torture list. Meaning, Brady was now on that same list with Crowley letting a demon tell Luci of Brady's betrayal for love. Hermione had a gut busting laugh hearing it. She congratulated Crowley for his Slytherin job well done. He had no clue what the hell she was talking about, but took the complement.

All laughter stopped when there was a spine chilling howl in the distance. Everyone paused. What the hell was that? Brady started freaking out.

"Please tell me that's not what I think it is."

Crowley turned to the tied up demon and replied, "I'm afraid so darling." He then disappeared and Hermione lost it.

"What the hell is it!?"

Dean turned to her with the a haunted look and muttered, "Hellhound." Hermione shivered. A nasty piece of work those things were. Well, from what she had read.

"Salt!" Dean yelled as he scrambled to go get salt. Brady was begging to be released and Hermione finally just silenced him. Damn demons were annoying. There was a loud crash and Hermione moved to help, but Sam kept her back. Dean ran into the room looking about ready to shit his pants in fear.

Sam asked desperately, "Salt?" There was a growl behind them and Hermione turned to face the beast. It was a monster! Hunched back, fiery red eyes, teeth sharp and ready to kill. It's fur was so black it could easily be the remains of a black hole. Drool dripped from its mouth as the murderous animal's claws scratched the floor. Hermione was frozen in fear. The beast was actually emitting the feeling of fear and hopelessness. She didn't know what to do!

Suddenly, there was a whistle from behind the animal and there was Crowley. He had a hell hound too. It was so much larger. So scary looking. She just couldn't handle the striking fear.

Dean announced shaking, "You're back!" Crowley rolled his eyes.

"I'm currently invested."

A loud bark came from the Hellhound next to him and he told the beast, "Stay!"

"You can control them?"

He pointed to the snarling smaller hound and said, "Not that one." He patted the bigger one's head and the animal literally purred under his touch.

"This one's mine." He smirked viciously. "And mine's bigger. Sic 'em boy!" The two Hellhounds began tearing eachother apart. Crowley's was winning.

Hermione grabbed the boys and apparated them to the car while Crowley grabbed Brady. They sped off as fast as possible and Hermione's hands were shaking and her eyes were wide.

Crowley looked at her oddly on the other side of Brady and asked, "Shaken up there?" Hermione didn't respond.

She only muttered to herself, "I didn't know dogs could be so scary." Sam turned to her wide eyed.

"You can see the hellhounds?"

She asked him like he was the crazy one, "You can't?!" Hermione scrubbed her eyes. "They were so cuddly, yet ferocious. My emotions are torn!" Crowley chuckled.

"They just need to be trained right. My Juliette is the most precious thing!" He brought out his wallet and showed her pictures of the beast like it was his child.

"She's just the sweetest thing." Hermione looked at the photos and found Crowley to be correct. The Hellhound in the photo looked like a regular Hellhound with razor teeth, claws and red eyes, but she was almost smiling. Fetching a metal ball and cuddling by a fireplace. Hermione aww'ed and Crowley seemed to fluff with pride.

"Alright you two weirdos, let's just get Brady somewhere to spill his guts." Brady began protesting, but he realized soon enough that no one could hear him and the witch was smirking. She booped his nose as they continued to drive.

They reached an alleyway soon enough and the brothers dragged Brady to the end of it. Hermione decided that they didn't need her for this part. She just knew Sam was going to end Brady and she didn't care to see it. Hermione said goodbye to Crowley and the boys. She then apparated to Bobby's.

Castiel was up and about. He was honestly just staring at the wall in boredom. He had on his regular outfit of suit and trenchcoat. He looked to her as she entered and greeted her with a smile.

"How did it go?" She dropped her backpack on the ground and sat down heavily. "Good I guess. Did you know Crowley has a Hellhound named Juliette? She is the cutest thing!" Cas looked confused and she just shook her head.

"I think the boys are getting Pestilence's location. We'll be ready to go tomorrow." He nodded and she took his hand and pulled him up from the couch.

"C'mon lazy. Let's get some exercise for those jelly legs!"

He followed her towards the door saying confused, "My legs are not made of gelatin dessert."

Hermione giggled uncharacteristically and said, "Have you spent most of your life confused?"

He actually answered, "I believe so." Hermione just smirked and pushed him forward. He dealt with her shoves of affection even though he had no clue as to why she was so rough.

Hermione grabbed his hand and they just walked around the scrap yard. The two even went as far as to leave the property and wander in the forest. When they entered a small clearing, Castiel got up the courage to finally ask something he had been wondering since he had become conscious.

"Hermione." She turned towards him. "What is the dark aura that surrounds you. I can't figure it out." Hermione's smile diminished and she looked to the ground. Should she tell him? Well of course, but what would he say. Hermione sighed deeply and looked at him in his crisp blue eyes. She took off her angel bracelet and showed him the scythe markinging. He grabbed her wrist and slowly slid his fingers over the mark.

He looked up to her and asked amazed, "Death marked you?" Hermione nodded and waited for him to say something. But all he did was stare at it intently.

"It's a very advanced marking. The binding goes all throughout the body. Even your magic!" Hermione raised a brow and put her bracelet back on.

"You figured all that out by looking at a tattoo?"

"It's not a tattoo."

"Technically."

He stared at her for a moment before saying, "This is a good thing. No one can take you now." Hermione crossed her arms.

"I wasn't expecting anyone to." He looked at her seriously.

"You are a powerful witch that can't die. Any person looking for a weapon could place a claim on you. Now, they can't." Hermione shivered, remembering how Odin wanted to get his dirty paws on her. That would have sucked.

"You're right." He sighed and she took hold of his hand. "Let's go back. I want to take a nap." He nodded and she just now noticed that his shoulders were hunched and eyes were trying to stay open.

She chuckled softly. "You could have just said you were tired." The angel blushed and Hermione couldn't help a snort at the sight. An embarrassed angel! She never thought she'd see the day.

The two walked back to Bobby's and found Bobby staring blankly at a book.

"Bobby?" He startled and turned towards them. "Is everything alright?" He nodded.

"Everything's fine." Hermione didn't quite believe him, but she was tired. She plopped down on the couch and instantly fell asleep. Bobby really did have a perfect couch.

Bobby watched as the angel placed a blanket over her and laid on the other side of the couch.

"An angel and a witch napping on my sofa." It was honestly the strangest thing he had ever said.


	13. Chapter 13

**Heyo readers of this story! Thanks for the wonderful reviews. It helps a lot when writing. So, we are progressing to the apocalypse! How fun! I think next chapter is the actual apocalypse chapter so** _ **be excited!**_ **So, I hope you review and ENJOY!**

* * *

 **Chapter 13**

Dean was on a rampage. "What the hell is wrong with you!?"

Sam crossed his arms and looked at his brother. "Dean-"

"Don't you "Dean" me! This-this is beyond stupid." The angered man turned to Bobby and a confused Hermione who just walked in.

"Did you know about this?"

Hermione responded "About what?"

"Sam's genius plan to cram the devil down his throat."

Hermione blinked and Bobby replied, "He might have mentioned it."

"Well thanks for the heads up!"

"Hey, I'm not in this."

Dean turned to Sam, "You aren't doing it."

"Ill drop it if I get the majority vote against it." Everyone in the room turned to Hermione. Her mind raced fast pathways of actions and the best way to deal with things.

She finally said, "Well, no matter how much I want to agree with Dean, I may have a way that can give you a better chance in resisting Lucifer." They looked at her like she was insane.

"How?"

"It's a magical method of protecting your mind. Occlumency. It's like building a wall around your mind and keeping you in control. Usually it's used to resist outside attacks, but you can also use it to any use if you have good control." Sam seemed almost excited while Dean looked about ready to tear her head off.

"You see, while I studied it with my mentor, I built a mindscape. It's protected with a maze of horrors and unshattering mirrors. If anyone wanted to get to my memories or take over my mind, they would have to get through that plus the large molten lava wall."

She looked to Sam seriously. "But with your time limit of less than a month or so, you wouldn't be able to be that protected. It took me a year to reconstruct my damaged mind and almost two to learn the art completely. I would only teach you how to throw people from your mind. If you're serious about this, then I can help you protect yourself more when Lucifer is actually attacking." Sam was thinking a mile a minute and Hermione interrupted.

"I believe this should be plan B. I'll teach you everything I can, but I only want this to be a plan to fall back on."

She frowned and said, "I think you would have to send me back to the loony bin if I lost _another_ member of my family." They were all in agreement. The deal made Dean happy, but he was still angry for her bringing it up. Dean really needed to get over it. He couldn't treat Sam like a kid anymore.

Later in the day, the brothers were going to get Pestilence. They told Hermione to stay behind. Mostly due to the fact that she tore the last horseman straight down the middle. Hermione had grumbled and told them to pray to Castiel if they couldn't handle it. The two left a little while later and Hermione sent Sam with a book on mind arts. Studying now would be good.

Hermione went back to the living room where Castiel was in deep thought. She sat down in front of him and asked, "Sickle for your thoughts?"

He ignored the saying he didn't understand and told her, "I believe Sam's idea may be the only way to stop this madness."

Hermione sighed and dropped her head in her hands. "I know."

He looked at her oddly. "Then why did you give a lie to Dean?"

She said to him, "He would give up if he knew his Sammy had no choice, but to jump in the pit." He then heard a small sniffling sound.

"Hermione?"

She looked up to him with unshed tears. "I don't want to lose another brother, Cas." He sighed softly and pulled her to him. She sat on his lap while he rubbed comforting circles in her back.

"I know it hurts, but you know it is the right thing to do."

She nodded and calmed down. "I cry entirely to much."

Castel paused and then said, "I would be worried if you didn't." She eyed him confused and he responded, "If you never showed emotion, you wouldn't be human. Therefore, not being Hermione." She smiled and hugged her angel tightly. Castiel felt that familiar flutter in his stomach. He was feeling it more and more now that he was more human than he had ever been. Whenever she touched him, he felt little sparks. He loved seeing her smile. He always wanted to make her smile. It was all so confusing and he just didn't understand it. What was the feeling? He just didn't know and it was frustrating him.

The next morning, Sam and Dean came into Bobby's with tired, but victorious faces. They had been through hell last night. First, they had to wait hours watching security cameras at an elderly hospital home or whatever. Then, they finally found Pestilence wearing a doctor and making everyone deathly sick. Then, they went to face the bastard and fricken coughed up blood the entire time. However, Sam, the freaking idiot just sort of fell on Pestilence when he crashed from the sickness. They grabbed the ring and ran. It was the easiest horseman yet. Well, it was certainly easy, but the most painful out of all of them.

When the two stumbled into Bobby's at about five in the morning, the first thing they noticed was all the lights off except for a single lamp where Bobby was reading. Bobby spotted them and hurriedly told them to shush. They looked at him confused, but understood when he pointed to the couch and saw a sweet yet awkward sight. Castiel and Hermione were curled up on the couch. Castiel had the most protective hold on the witch it was almost cringe worthy. The connection was just painfully brothers wished the two would just kiss already and stop annoying them with this cutesy stuff.

The brothers and Bobby decided to hit the sack and get some shut eye. They were down a bed, so Dean was forced to sleep downstairs on the cushioned window seat after losing _another_ rock paper scissors. He really hated that game.

The temporary bed was uncomfortable, but what was even more uncomfortable was the snuggled up pair next to him. He tried getting some sleep, but the hard cushioning and his cramped up legs didn't help. Then, he was rudely awaken by a whimpering sound. It was small, barely noticeable. It grew into panicked murmurs and harsh breaths. He looked to see Hermione twitching and wincing. He was about to get up to wake her up when a sleeping Castiel woke and hugged her closer. Stroking her hair and whispering comfort in her ear. She calmed down and slept peacefully. Castiel then went straight back to sleep as well.

Dean was freaked out to say the least. It was just so weird! Castiel was naturally an almost unfeeling force of nature, but with Hermione he was almost human. Gentle, protective, compassionate and loving. He felt all the emotions and took it in stride because it was all for Hermione. Dean had to appreciate the connection no matter how school crush cringe worthy it was. He remembered that Hermione was immortal. She would need someone to stay with her, care for her emotionally. Dean was glad that someone was Castiel.

The next morning, all of them sat around Bobby while the man told them of a storm coming over Chicago that could wipe it off the map.

"Well...Death, the horseman, he's gonna be there. And if we can stop him before he kick-starts this storm, get his ring back -."

Dean scoffed. "You make it sound so easy."

"I'm just tryin' to put a spin on it." Hermione stayed silent through it all. She never even thought to ask Death for his ring. He most likely knew of the plan and he wanted to stop Lucifer so why didn't he just give Hermione the ring? Death was mystery. Castiel looked to her seemingly wondering the same exact thing.

Sam then asked, "How'd you put this all together anyways?" The man was silent and Hermione eyed him suspiciously.

"I had, you know, some help, maybe."

A familiar accented drawl spoke up behind them, "Don't be so modest. I barely helped at all. Hello, boys. Pleasure. Go ahead. Tell them. There's no shame in it." They all looked back to Bobby and he fidgeted nervously.

'"World's gonna end. Seems stupid to get all precious over one little...Soul."

Dean exploded, "You sold your soul?!"

Crowley interrupted, "More like pawned it. I fully intend to give it back."

"Then give it back you bastard!"

"I will."

"Now!"

Sam turned to Bobby and asked, "Did you kiss him?"

Hermione smacked his shoulder and shouted, "Sam!"

"Just curious."

They all looked to Bobby once again and the man stated outaged, "No!" Crowley cleared his throat and they all swiveled around to look at a picture on a cellphone of Bobby and Crowley in a liplock. The group of four slowly looked to Bobby with different ranges of horror and curiosity.

"Why'd you take a picture?"

Crowley packed the phone away. "Why'd you have to use tongue?" It was silent for a moment before Dean stood up and groaned in annoyance.

"Just give him his damn soul back."

"I need it for insurance."

"What the hell, Crowley!"

"You kill demons! Gigantor over there has a temper issue about it. But you won't kill me... As long as I have that soul in the deposit box. What's done is done now go get the bloody horseman!" Crowley disappeared and they all had to collect themselves. Everyone dispersed and went to do their own things.

Hermione got her clutches on Sam and Severus Snaped the man for three hours straight. He had a major headache, a shaking body, and only a small amount of protection. She stalked around him like a predator stalking it's prey.

"You think you can keep Lucifer out with that protection?"

He breathed hard and looked at her. "I need a break." She slammed her hands down on the armrests of the chair he was in and he jumped back in his seat.

"You think dear old Luci will pull back the punches to give you a breather? You may not have magic in you, but that dormant demon blood gives you the same get up and go to protect your mind. Muggles can do it! I learned while I was sixteen!" She shoved him back and his chair hit the wall. "I want you to control that nasty anger and organize your mind. We will try again later. Go have your break." He nodded and shot out of the room. Hermione sighed. She knew she was being tough, but it really was the fastest way to learn. No matter what Harry said.

Hermione and Sam went for one last session after lunch and she could tell he was slowly starting to grasp it. Plus, Castiel had just informed her that if Sam was going with the plan, then he would be hopped up on demon blood. Which, would be good and bad. Good because he could enforce his walls better, but his anger would be out of control. Not a good way to do something like Occlumency.

Crowley came later with a newspaper and some snarky comment. Sam grabbed it and read, "Niveus pharmaceuticals is rushing delivery of its new swine-flu vaccine to "stem the tide of the unprecedented outbreak." Uh, shipments leave Wednesday."

Something clicked for Hermione and she groaned. "Niveus pharmaceuticals. Get it? Brady the V.P. of distribution?"

Dean put the pieces together, "Pestilence was spreading swine flu for more than giggles."

Sam continued, "Step two in a plan to spread croatoan virus. The vaccines."

Crowley smirked. "Simultaneous, countrywide distribution. It's quite a plan."

Hermione chuckled humorlessly. "They don't get to be horsemen for nothing." Hermione was now a bit angry at Death. He couldn't have told her any of this? There had to be a reason why he couldn't. There better be or so help her she would kill Death….that sounded ridiculous.

They all sat down to make a plan. Even Crowley. Castiel, Sam, and Bobby would go to the truck loading station at Niveus to blow the place sky high. No more vaccinations! Meanwhile, Dean, Crowley, and Hermione would go find Death. They originally wanted to send her to blow up the distribution station because of her extremely destructive nature. However, she refused. She needed to speak to Death. She wouldn't have another chance anytime soon unless she was healing from having her brain ripped out or something.

Everything was set and ready to go. Dean turned to Sam as the sky grew increasingly dark and said, "Alright, well...Good luck stopping the whole zombie apocalypse."

Same scoffed. "Yeah. Good luck killing Death." Everyone realized how idiotic and crazy that sounded.

Crowley popped up behind them and said, "Dean-o, you may need this." They turned to see Crowley holding out a small scythe. Hermione narrowed her eyes at it and knew exactly who's scythe that was. What was it doing in the hands of Crowley of all people? Hermione was surprised at how upset that made her. That's when she realized a new feeling inside her. A small humming. Like she was connecting with the weapon. Sentient.

Dean asked, "What's that?"

"Death's own scythe. Kills, golly, demons and angels and reapers and, rumor has it, the very thing itself." Hermione didn't like the sound of , she somehow knew it would be alright.

Dean slowly took it and said, "Thanks. I won't even ask how you got it."

"Good choice." Hermione walked to go with Dean and Crowley when the demon turned around and said to Bobby, "Bobby, you just gonna sit there?" Bobby looked at Crowley like he was an idiot.

"No, I'm gonna riverdance."

Crowley shook his head seemingly amused, "I suppose if you want to impress the ladies." They looked at the demon with exasperation.

He continued, ignoring them, "Bobby, Bobby, Bobby. Really wasted that crossroads deal. In fact, you get more if you phrase it properly. So, I took the liberty of adding a teeny little sub-a clause on your behalf." They looked at the demon like he was crazy.

He shrugged. "What can I say? I'm an altruist. So, I'll ask again. Just gonna sit there?" Bobby looked down at his feet and very hesitantly, moved each foot. He got a steady stance the gradually stood from his seat. Everyone besides Crowley just stood in amazement.

Hermione kind of ruined the moment like usual by saying, "Does this mean I don't have to help haul your heavy ass off the couch anymore?"

Bobby mock glared at her. "Watch it kid. I can do a lot more now then roll over your toes with my heavy ass."

Crowley then annoyedly said, "Yes, I know. Completely worth your soul. I'm a hell of a guy."

Even with that bad pun, Bobby told the crossroads demon, "Thanks."

"This is getting maudlin. Can we go?" They all dispersed and Hermione looked to a very down looking Castiel. She sighed and walked straight up to her angel and gave him a tight hug.

He hugged her back and he whispered, "Please make sure Dean doesn't make Death mad."

Hermione chuckled and looked up to him. "Don't break your wings anymore alright?" He nodded and did something he had never done before. He kissed her forehead and walked off to the van. Hermione blinked and walked back to car in a sort of trance. That was a very intimate move in her book. She decided to shake it off for now and focus on the mission.

While she was walking to the car, Crowley had looked to Dean with a confused face and asked, "So, are they a thing or what?"

"Or what. It's annoying."

"I find it a bit sickeningly sweet."

Dean cringed. "I actually agree with you there, Crowley." Crowley looked extremely smug about it too. Hermione hopped in the passenger seat. They were ready to go. Hermione held the scythe as the drove the entire night.

They reached Chicago during a very gloomy afternoon. They appeared next to a warehouse underneath a large highway. If Hermione were to look in the distance, she could see at least thirty black suit clad men and women gathered around a warehouse and a few other places. She blinked and decided not to ask. Crowley would probably explain it in some sarcastic way.

She did notice something else, though. A feeling. A sort of pull. Her wrist kept jerking in a certain direction like someone had tied a string around it and was now pulling it. Odd. She had an idea about it, but wouldn't act on it yet.

Crowley turned to them and asked, "Hey, let's stop for pizza."

Hermione answered truthfully, "I wouldn't mind it."

While Dean replied, "Are you kidding?"

The two eyed each other while Crowley pointed to Hermione and said, "That's why she's the cool one."

Dean muttered to himself, "Crazy more like it." Hermione smacked him upside the head and glared.

Crowley pointed to the giant building and said, "Up ahead. Big, ugly building. Ground zero. Horseman's stable, if you will. He's in there."

Hermione asked, "How do you know?"

"Have you met me? 'cause I know. Also, the block is squirming with reapers. I'll be right back."

He then disappeared and Hermione said, "Oh so that's who they are."

Dean looked at her exasperated, "You can see reapers? What the hell can't you do?"

Hermione thought about it for a moment and said, "I can't knit. Gosh knows I tried, but that is skill I can't obtain." Dean smacked his forehead in disbelief. He was pretty sure Hermione could declare herself God and no one would bat an eye.

Crowley came back and said, "He's not in there."

Dean looked to the demon outraged. "You wanna tell us where he is?"

"Sorry, I don't know." The two angrily fought while Hermione was jerked to look past the building again.

She said to the two, "He's here." They looked to her confused and she began to walk past them and into the Impala. Dean got into the driver's seat and she told him directions. The wrist with Death's mark kept jerking and they followed. They finally reached a street with rows of shops and restaurants. She pulled Dean out of the car and Crowley just disappeared. Her hand finally stopped twitching when they reached a pizza place. Dean insisted they go in the back. Hermione just went with him. Hermione was now positive that she would have to reveal to Dean that Death had literally adopted her.

They walked in and Dean was shaking. She could understand why. The air around them just had a foreboding feeling. One that told you to turn back and never return. Though, Hermione paid it no mind. Dean took out the scythe and Hermione had to force herself not to take it back. When they got to the main floor of the restaurant, they were surrounded by dead people. Hermione had to bite back a gag. That really was unnecessary.

They walked closer to the thin man she recognized as Death. Hermione decided to make her move. She grabbed the scythe from Dean and he looked at her like she was going crazy…..again. Hermione calmly walked up to him with the scythe and he looked up at her. It felt different meeting him in person. Sure, it was real enough in her mind, but this just felt like their first real meeting.

"Hermione. Thanks for returning that. Care to join me?" She smiled brightly and nodded. She handed him the scythe and sat in a seat next to him. He got her a plate and put a slice of pizza on it. She poured a drink and looked back to Dean who looked like he was just hit with the confusion train.

"Come sit, Dean." He slowly walked over to the seat in front of Death and sat down. Hermione took a bite of the pizza and looked at it appreciatively.

"This really is good." Death nodded to her.

"The best in Chicago in my opinion." Hermione smiled and looked to Dean who seriously just wanted to scream.

Death took pity on the man and said, "Dean, I would like you to meet my adopted child." Hermione blushed a bright shade and waved to Dean. His eyes widened the size of tennis balls.

"Ch-Child?"

Hermione nodded and took a sip of her drink. "I guess I'll explain later. We have more important matters to discuss."

Death took a slice of pizza and dropped it on Dean's plate. "Eat." Dean did so slowly. Almost like he was expecting to spontaneously choke on it. Which, would make sense because he was sitting in front of Death. Dean ended up taking another bite and enjoyed it a bit more knowing he wasn't going to drop dead.

Death finally said to them, "I know why you're here."

Hermione put down her silverware and looked at the man seriously. "Which brings up a good question. Why didn't you tell me earlier? This all could have been done and over with a lot faster."

He calmly looked to her and replied, "Because I didn't know what you were doing until I realized you weren't just killing my _brothers_ , but also taking their rings." Hermione winced and ducked her head remembering what she did to Famine.

He patted her hand and said, "I don't blame you."

She looked up at him gratefully and he continued, "When I figured it out, Lucifer did as well. So, he knows. However, Lucifer has me bound to him. Some unseemly little spell. He has me where he wants, when he wants. That's why I couldn't go to you, Dean. I had to wait for you to catch up. He made me his weapon. Hurricanes, floods, raising the dead. I'm more powerful than you can process, and I'm enslaved to a bratty child with a temper tantrum." Death was slowly becoming angrier and angrier, but he still kept a cool facade.

Dean responded stuttering, "And you think...I can unbind you?" Death rolled his eyes and looked to Hermione to asked Dean was seriously this self centered.

Hermione shrugged and Death looked to Dean and said, "You have an inflated sense of your importance. To a thing like me, a thing like you, well...Think how you'd feel if a bacterium sat at your table and started to get snarky. This is one little planet in one tiny solar system in a galaxy that's barely out of its diapers. I'm old, Dean. Very old. So I invite you to contemplate how insignificant I find you." Dean swallowed hard and Hermione didn't say anything. It was true.

Death continued a bit more calm, "But what you can do is help me take the bullets out of Lucifer's gun."

He held up the ring and said, "I understand you want this." Dean nodded. "I'm inclined to give it to you."

"Give it to me?"

"Did I stutter?" Dean gulped. "If I give you this ring, you are to do _whatever_ it takes to shove Lucifer back in his cage. That means letting that brother of yours jump into the pit. Understood?" Dean didn't hesitate in nodding.

"I want your promise Dean."

"Yes, I promise." He nodded and passed the ring to Hermione. "Do not put it on and do not lose it. Understood?" Hermione nodded and wrapped the ring in a cloth, putting it in one of her locked bag pockets.

"You place all the rings together and you make the key. Throw it on a surface and say the incantation. The portal will open and your brother will need to jump in." He looked to them seriously. "But you have to understand that once it's closed, it is closed. The door will be welded shut. No locks, no keys, nothing." Dean and Hermione nodded sadly and he looked to her with pity.

"I know it's hard. But you have the strength." Hermione nodded and Death came very close to a smile, but decided against it. Dean brought up something important.

"What about…."

"Chicago? I suppose it can stay. I like the pizza." Hermione smiled. Knowing he would have let it live no matter what. After a while, Dean left and Hermione told him she would follow after one last slice of pizza.

She looked to Death when Dean had gone and asked, "Do you think things will ever get better?"

He sighed and looked her straight in the eyes and said, "I believe that depends where you are in the world. If you were just a normal citizen on this planet, then yes. Life may look up after this. But you are not. You are Hermione Granger, my adopted child, the protector of the Winchesters, and currently a very powerful chess piece on everyone's board. I believe in all honesty that it will never be completely "better" in your definition."

Hermione looked at him and choked out, "Couldn't you have just lied to me?"

He let a sad smile cross his face. "Death doesn't lie."

Hermione wiped away a tear and said, "I'll just have to make time for things to be better occasionally. After all, I have all the time in the world."

He nodded to her. "There's a way to look at it." Hermione ate her last slice of pizza and put on her backpack. She was about to leave when Death called her back. He was standing up and walking to her. He then did something highly unsuspected. He hugged her.

She hugged him back an she could hear him say, "Humans are such odd creatures."

Hermione laughed and pulled back. "Yes, but I'm _your_ odd human."

He smirked slightly. "Indeed you are." Hermione then turned and left, knowing that she would have a lot to explain to Dean, Sam and Bobby.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey guys! Sorry to make you wait, but I've been pretty busy. Becoming an adult stuff and all. But, I hope this was worth the wait! The final battle has arrived! Aren't you excited? I'm excited! Finally find out what happened to Adam, what happens to the brothers, will Hermione and Cas finally admit their feelings? So many things to find out! Read to solve the mysteries! Don't forget to review so I can write better chapters in the future. ENJOY!**

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 **Chapter 14**

"When were you planning on telling us that Death marked you up!?" Hermione had a splitting headache. She had nothing but these questions coming home from Chicago and now Bobby and Sam were asking the same damn questions. That was precisely the reason she refused to give Dean any answers. She didn't feel like going through everything twice.

They were all in Bobby's office and Castiel was sort of off to the side, looking on in amusement. He told her she should have just told them and this was her price to pay. Hermione really just wanted to smack that smug look off his face. Since she couldn't do that, she sucked it up and looked towards Bobby who looked rightly outraged.

"I was planning on telling you when it was relevant. Like, when we meet Death." Hermione thought that was a fair moment to do it. Dean crossed his arms annoyed.

"You didn't even tell me! Death did."

Sam suddenly spoke out in a curious nature, "What does the mark look like?"

Bobby and Dean turned to him and shouted, "Sam!"

He held up his hands. "Just curious." Hermione tried to hold back a chuckle. It was serious moment, no time for laughs. So, she took the bracelet off and showed them the mark on the inside of her right wrist. She wanted to laugh again at their wide eyes. She touched the mark and they watched as darkness pulsed through her veins.

"It's there forever. I don't really mind though. Death is a pretty cool dad."

Dean blinked owlishly and muttered, " _Death is a pretty cool dad?"_ Dean turned to Bobby and asked with complete seriousness, "I think we should send her back to Glenwood." Hermione glared at them when it seemed like they were actually considering it.

"Honestly, It's not that big a deal. I didn't die, Dean didn't die, we got the rings, and everyone's happy except Sam who has to jump in a fiery cage with Lucifer. Good? Good. Now, let's get on this already. Sam, we are doing a few more lesson before you go head to head with Satan." She pulled him along with unmatched strength and everyone was struck silent. That was unexpected.

Hermione and Sam practiced every day for the next week and Hermione was now fairly certain Sam had a sufficient wall. With the demon juice he had to chug she was hoping it would be enough to strengthen his control even when the chaos of the blood took over. They were all ready to go face down the big baddie after Sam's final lesson. Crowley supplied three demons for Sam to drink dry and they were set.

Dean decided that Detroit was the place to go for the devil. Hermione trusted him. He had that look in his eyes that said he absolutely knew something everyone else didn't. Hermione decided to give the original trio some space and ride with Bobby. Who, was ecstatic that Hermione wasn't driving. She sucked at it.

They all drove to Detroit and halfway through the night, Hermione looked to Bobby and asked, "This isn't going to go as planned is it?"

The man sighed tiredly and said to her, "I doubt anything ever goes as planned." Hermione nodded.

"I hope Dean'll be alright."

The man smiled sadly at her. "He'll still have me and you."

Hermione shook her head. "It isn't the same for Dean. It's always about Sammy. If it was to let Sam live, he would probably sacrifice either one of us and we would let him because we care so much. I don't hate him for it. It's just that neither one of us can fill that gaping hole this'll leave." Bobby looked straight ahead. She was right. Every last damn word. Those boys were dangerously codependent. Nothing mattered to them, but each other.

They continued to drive in silence and reached their destination the next night. Everyone stumbled out of their vehicles and shook the drowsiness from them. This was it. The final battle. Hermione shivered and felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Castiel's deep eyes. He said nothing, but she knew what he meant by the gesture. He would be there. Meanwhile, Bobby was scoping out the building.

"Demons. At least two dozen of them. You were right - something's up."

Dean nodded emotionlessly, "More than something. He's here. I know it." Dean walked to the trunk while Sam hugged Bobby in a last goodbye. Sam then walked to Castiel and held out his hand.

"Take care of them."

Castiel knew what he was supposed to say. "I will." Sam nodded and finally came to Hermione. She was determined not to cry so she just crushed him in a hug.

"Remember what I told you Sammy. You fight him tooth and nail, you understand? Keep swinging. Don't give an inch. An inch is all he needs." Sam nodded and released her from a hug.

She whispered to him so Dean wouldn't hear, "No matter what, I'll make sure Dean's okay. I promise." Sam smiled to her softly. That meant more to him than anything.

Sam traveled to the back trunk and chugged the blood. Before he left to go cause some trouble, Hermione shot through his mind and found a sturdy wall he was keeping up with determination. Hermione smirked in approval and Sam kept walking.

Hermione, Castiel and Bobby were meant to stay back. Their presence, especially Hermione's, would piss the devil off. Making it tough to focus. So they stayed near the Impala, holding onto hope that just maybe they would catch a lucky break. The building emitted with a bright white light and then nothing. Just nothing. They couldn't hear anything or see anything. Not until Dean walked out of the building with angry teary face and they knew it didn't work. Hermione could feel her heart just snap. Her training didn't help, Sammy still got possessed. Was everything really that hopeless?

The four of them had a good pity party before aimlessly wandering the streets. They stopped to see a TV shop playing the news. The woman on the screen was saying with a panicked tone, "Reports are flooding in - a 7.6 earthquake in Portland, 8.1 in Boston, more in Hong Kong, Berlin, and Tehran. The U.S.G.S. has no explanation but says to expect a six-figure death toll." Hermione blinked away the tears threatening to spill over.

"It's starting."

Dean turned to Cas angered. "Yeah, you think, genius?"

Castiel crossed his arms. "You don't have to be mean."

Dean asked helplessly, "Well what do we do now?"

Castiel again replied, "I suggest we imbibe copious quantities of alcohol and wait for the inevitable blast wave."

"Swell. Thank you, Bukowski. I mean, how do we stop it?"

"We don't. Lucifer will meet Michael on the chosen field, and the battle of Armageddon begins."

"Okay, well, where's this chosen field?"

"I'm sorry. I don't know."

Dean shouted, "Well, there's gotta be something that we can do!"

Bobby told him, "It's over, Dean." The man angrily stomped away and Hermione looked to the two men left standing. She sighed and followed Dean. She still had hope that they could win. She had to. Or she would be left living alone with no family for the rest of her unending existence. Dean was in an alleyway angrily flipping out his phone. He dialed a number and waited. Hermione transformed into her animagus and blended with the shadows to hear the other line. The phone was picked up and a slightly higher pitched male voice answered the phone.

"Mistress Magda?"

Dean grimaced. "Um, no, Chuck."

"Oh, uh, Dean. Uh, wow. I, uh, I didn't know that you'd call."

"Who's Mistress Magda?"

"No one. She's a, uh, a - just a, uh... a close friend."

"Yeah, I'll bet - real close. Whatever happened to Becky?"

"Didn't work out. I had too much respect for her."

"Boy, you really got a whole virgin/hooker thing going on, don't you?"

Chuck now embarrassed asked slightly annoyed, "This can't be why you called?"

Dean sighed loudly. "Sam said, yes."

"I know. I saw it. I'm just working on the pages."

"Did you see where the title fight goes down?" "

The angels are keeping it top secret - very hush-hush. But I saw it anyways. Perks of being a prophet."

"Well don't just leave me hangin'."

"It's tomorrow, high noon - place called Stull Cemetery."

"Stull Ceme- Wait. I know that. That's - that's an old boneyard outside of Lawrence. Why Lawrence?"

"It all has to end where it started, I guess." The two went silent. Suddenly Chuck asked, "Hey, I have a final question for you before you go try and stop Samifer. What's Hermione Granger doing in the story?" Dean blinked and Hermione winced. Well shit. The brothers still thought her last name was Lovegood. Oops. How did she forget to tell them that?

"Pardon, Hermione _Granger_?"

"Yeah, you know. The one from the Harry Potter books. I saw her just appear in a part of the story and I don't understand why they're intertwined."

Dean said, "Just hold on a moment. Harry Potter books? Why does that sound familiar?"

"It's a best seller! Fandoms around the world. It got me wanting to publish your story actually. I'm guessing this J.K Rowling chick was some sort of prophet for a different world or something." Hermione was reeling from what she heard. She quickly jumped from the shadows, shifted back and snatched the phone.

"Where are you right now?" He stuttered out his location and Hermione glared to Dean. "Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone. Call me when you get to Kansas." Hermione shut the phone and apparated. When she opened her eyes she was in an untidy home with a very _very_ confused man. His hair was dark brown, curled and thin. He wore a button up white shirt and black slacks. The drink he had in his hands had obviously fallen to the ground for there was smashed glass. She waved her hand and the mess cleaned itself.

He gasped in pure amazement and stuttered, "H-Hermione Granger? The real deal?" She narrowed her eyes and stalked towards him.

He backed up all the way to the counter and she growled out, "What did you mean? Harry Potter books?" Chuck shakily pointed to his bookcase and she called over the books he was pointing to. She looked to the first and smallest one with a drawing of Harry on the front.

She gripped it and read, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone?" Hermione growled and threw the book down. "My life as a children's series?" She grabbed the front of Chuck's shirt and she could literally hear him shaking. "I want to know what you know about this and I want to know now."

Chuck gulped and stuttered out, "Y-You just appeared in the Winchester's story! On the Wraith chapter. I knew I recognized you and it wasn't until Famine spat your name that I knew exactly. I swear, I know nothing more than that."

Hermione released him and straightened out his shirt. "I apologize, but I just lost my temper."

He chuckled. "It was legendary in the books."

She smirked. "In real life too."

He sighed. "If only I had time to hear your stories. Alas, I must finish the Winchester's book."

Hermione smiled sadly and asked, "You have no idea how this will end?"

He poured a drink and told her truthfully, "I have no idea." Hermione patted him on the shoulder and was about to apparate when he nervously called her back.

She turned to him and he bashfully asked, "C-Can I have your signature?"

"Whatever for?"

He blushed scarlet. "You were always my favorite character." Hermione chuckled and signed a paper, placed it in a picture frame and placed it on his desk. She mockingly bowed to him.

"Goodbye my faithful fan." She disappeared and Chuck looked at the frame.

It read: _To Chuck. From Hermione Granger. Keep Up The Good Work Faithful._ He almost melted. It was one of his dreams come true. He sat down in a new determination to make this the best ending in Supernatural history.

Hermione apparated back to the alley to see Dean taking off. She popped into his car and he didn't even jump when she appeared next o him.

She asked him, "What's the plan?"

Dean tightened his hold on the steering wheel. "I'm going to go talk to him." Hermione didn't fight with him on it. He was determined. Hermione had hope in Dean Winchester.

The two drove for a long time. Never stopping to eat or sleep. They kept driving. Not speaking a single word to each other. Hermione didn't know what was going to go down at that cemetery, but she would be there for her boys. She wouldn't let them down.

It was early morning when they drove along the dirt path. They could see two figures in the distance. Michael and Lucifer. Dean sped down the dirt path and skidded to a halt near the two brothers about to face off. It was deathly silent. Hermione and Dean got out of the beloved Impala and but on their snarky masks to hide the pain and fear.

Hermione smirked and waved. "Howdy boys."

She stepped forward while Dean nonchalantly asked, "Oh, I'm sorry. Did we interrupt something?" Lucifer walked forward and Hermione wanted to scream. Even the way he walked wasn't right. It was all wrong!

The man even spoke in Sam's voice, but the language was twisted. It spoke, "Dean. Even for you, this is a whole new mountain of stupid." He directly ignored her presence. Dean was about to speak up, but Michael interrupted, walking towards Dean menacingly.

"You're no longer the vessel, Dean. You have no right to be here."

"Adam, if you're in there somewhere, I am so sorry."

"His soul kindly rests in heaven with his mother. Just like I promised."

"Well, then you're next on my list, buttercup. But right now, I need five minutes with him."

"You little maggot! You are no longer a part of this story!"

Suddenly, they could hear Castiel shout behind all of them, "Hey, ass-butt!" They turned to see him throwing a flaming bottle of some sort and hitting Michael square in the chest. He erupted into a burning flame with an unearthly scream. Hermione had to cover her sensitive ears as the archangel disappeared.

Hermione looked at him in relief and asked, "Ass-butt?" He shrugged with a small smile towards her and that all went away when Lucifer menacingly stalked towards her angel.

"Castiel. Did you just Molotov my brother with holy fire?"

Castiel shuffled his feet. Ready to flee on broken wings. "Uh….no?"

"No one dicks with Michael but me." He then snapped his fingers and Castiel burst. Literally burst with his blood coating everyone there.

Hermione shouted in agony, "No!" She looked at the blood on her while Lucifer laughed laughed at her pain.

"Enjoy that witch? Oh, when I win this fight, you're forever on my torture list, Sweetheart." Hermione growled at him. Her pain filled eyes slowly turning black. She had never felt this much pain. Not when Severus died. Not when Harry died. Not even when she found her parents dead when she went to erase their memories. He destroyed her very happiness without a care. It was so nonchalant. Like Castiel wasn't even worth the effort. Well, he was worth it to her. And she was furious. She blasted a wave of magic at him. She could care less if it was Sam.

"YOU MONSTER!" Lucifer slightly tipped back, but didn't fall. He looked to her outraged as he stalked up to her with murder in his borrowed eyes. Dean ran towards her to help, but was blasted to his car. Denting the side door. Bobby shot Sam in the shoulder, but his neck was snapped. Tears flowed down her cheeks as he moved to tear her apart.

All she did was scream, "Do it!" He paused slightly, but continued.

"I can't kill you, but I can sure break you!" He knocked her to the ground roughly and attacked.

She shouted to him, "You already have!"

He laughed at her pain and shouted, "You are nothing to me!" He ended it with a knee to her side. "All you are is a stain! A stain that needs to be washed out of this timeline! You don't belong here!"

He was about to smash her head in when she screamed through the tears, "Just end it already you monster! I hope God never forgives you! I hope you feel my pain! My heart's been broken and all I want to do is drop dead here and now! Smash my head in! Maybe you'll do me a favor and take the pain away." His whole body paused in mid motion. He looked into her eyes and saw everything. Her eyes held horrors of her own hell and of her indescribable pain. She could act happy on the outside, but she would forever be empty. Just a shell of the girlish bookworm she used to be. He saw it all. Her life play through and the new life she created with the Brothers, Bobby and her angel. He saw it and his entire demeanor flickered. He closed his eyes in pain and gasped a breath. He toppled off of her and she retreated back to her original state. Black eyes sinking back into her normal dark irises.

She asked hesitantly, "Sam?"

He groaned and clutched his head. "It's me." Hermione quickly dove into his mind and helped him shove Lucifer behind the walls. She built on them and built. She came out and Sam stood up with a shaking body. He grabbed the rings and threw them to the ground.

" _Bvtmon tabges babalon."_ The ground opened up into a swirling black hole and Sam traveled over to Dean. He looked to his brother with eyes that said more than goodbye. They said thank you for being my big brother. Thanks for not leaving me behind. Thank you for being there.

He walked over to the edge and Michael came back. "Sam! It's not gonna end this way! Step back!"

"You're going to have to make me." Everything seemed to slow down through the whirling winds and he fell. Sam spread his arms like angelic wings and just fell from earth. Michael screamed and stopped at the edge. Hermione knew now what she had to do. She got to her feet and sped to Michael. She rammed into him and he too fell. Screaming and trying to get back up. He grabbed onto her ankle and she slipped. Her stomach jumped as she hung on for dear life. Dean was trying to get up desperately on broken legs and Michael was crawling up her.

She screamed desperately. "Cas!" Her savior didn't come. So, she became the self sacrificing Hermione she had always been and….. let go. Michael screamed in rage as they plummeted. She looked to the closing hole and saw her angel. He was trying to reach her, but the hole closed. His wings weren't broken. That was good. She loved his wings. As the hole was but an inch from closing, she looked into his eyes. She would remember those crystal blue eyes. The eyes she slowly fell in love with.

Up above. Castiel was staring at the rings. The rings that could open the door to let his Hermione free. But he couldn't, he knew it wouldn't work. Something fell on his hand. It was wet. He looked and found the source. Tears. He was crying and he couldn't stop. The tears kept coming and he finally broke down. He succumbed to the human emotions that lay beneath his angel soul.

He felt a hand on his back and he looked through bleary eyes to see Dean crying as well. They looked at each other. Knowing they both lost their beloved. For Dean, it was his brother and sister. For Castiel, it was his one and only love and friend. Castiel slowly touched Dean's head and healed him. He flicked his hand toward Bobby and he was healed too. His soul hadn't left the earth yet. So, bringing him back to life was simple. Bobby got up and looked to the two sobbing messes. He just knew. Hermione and Sam weren't there. Neither was Lucifer and Michael. He would get details later, but for now he would grieve with the boys.

Castiel couldn't move from the spot where Hermione fell. It had been eight hours. Eight agonizing hours. Dean drove off with Bobby two hours ago, but he couldn't leave. Castiel was about to pick up the rings, but a voice sounded behind him.

"So you're Castiel." The angel turned around with drooped wings. He looked into the eyes of the man he knew as Death. The elder man slowly walked over to the rings, slipped his on and put the others in his pocket.

He finally looked to Castiel and asked emotionlessly, "What did she mean to you?" Castiel could feel his stomach tighten just thinking about her.

"She meant everything to me." Death nodded and walked around him and Castiel said to himself, "She still does."

Death paused in his movements and looked the angel straight in his eyes. "It is funny how we only know how much someone truly matters when they leave us." Death looked to the ground and said, "It was my job to protect my child. I didn't come in time." He looked back up to the angel. "And it looks like neither did you." Castiel looked down in shame. The man sneered at the ground. "I was too busy brushing off the remains of Lucifer's leash." The man looked at Castiel with fire behind his black eyes. "Did you know that the little brat locked me in a cage of my own? It took this long to burst out and I learn my girl has been thrown in a cage with the raging baby." Everything went silent.

Suddenly, Death asked, "How about we make it up to our witch and be there for her now?" Castiel looked up to Death sharply.

The man walked to the spot of grass and said, "Do you not feel the new power within you? It is fully restored. I believe you know what you can do."

Castiel looked to the ground again and said, "You told me the cage was welded shut." The man placed both hands on his cane.

"Not to a thing like me. All I need, is someone to get the bodies. I specialize in souls."

Castiel was filled with new determination as he said, "If we are going to get them both out, then I need help."

He hadn't to say anything more as a voice spoke up behind them, "Say no more little bro. I'm here." They both turned to eye the sad form of Gabriel. "I guess I'm in the boat of failure with you guys. I was in another dimension and didn't get the call on angel radio until now." They watched as the archangel walked over to them.

"Ready to save our pals?" Gabriel, Castiel, and Death had little struggle finding the cage, but when they got down there, they could already feel their hearts drop. The two angels had never seen such pain and torture. Lucifer and Michael were fighting each other in celestial form while four bodies lay on the ground. Two were already dead, but the other two were thrown to the ground with organs spilling out and eyes burned out of their sockets. Hermione was missing a leg and Sam seemed to have lost both arms. Their skin was being burned off slowly and Death could just see their pained souls.

They were being kept alive through it all. Hermione moved her head and seemed to stare at them through the bars. Even though she had no eyes to do so. Death made the first move by waving his hand over the celestial forms. They froze in midair. Death then stepped straight through the cage while letting through Gabriel and Castiel. Death would never have braved this alone. He could have accidently let Lucifer out. But with the help of an archangel and one saved by God. This could be done.

He slowly turned Hermione's face toward him and he tried not to focus on the pure disarrangement. Her tongue seemed to be halfway across the room as well. He placed his hand over her mouth and sucked out her soul. Her body went stiff and he placed the soul in his suitcase. He went over to Sam and did the same thing. Souls couldn't get past the bars, but hidden in his case they could. While Gabriel healed Sam, Castiel healed Hermione. They put their bodies back together and death moved them along. Lucifer and Michael were working past his time manipulation.

After everything was done, Gabriel lifted Sam from the ground while Castiel held Hermione. They walked from the cage and watched as Michael and Lucifer reanimated and tried to reach them. They screamed in Enochian and cursed them to an eternity of suffering, but Deat shut them up by placing his own touch on the cage. A silencing feature. Now not even the angels in heaven or demons in hell could hear the two. The cage was well welded shut with God's will and the three left.

When they reached the surface, Gabriel almost dropped Sam from his massive weight. While Castiel set Hermione down gently.

Death walked up to the two angels and said, "I want to wake them up separately." Sam went first. Death put his soul back and the man erupted in a light and gasped for breath. He looked up to the three surrounding them and said the first thing that came to mind.

"Am I in heaven?"

Gabriel chuckled. "Far from it, kid."

He looked and asked, "You're alive?"

Gabriel nodded. "All thanks to our favorite little witch."

Sam suddenly shot up on shaky feet and shouted, "Hermione's still down there! How could you leave her like that? It was awful and painful and words can't even-." He was cut off when Gabriel pointed to the still soulless and unconscious body of Hermione.

He dropped next to her and asked, "Will she be alright?"

Castiel nodded and said, "We just need to wake her up."

He looked to Castiel and asked, "You're alive too? But- But I-."

He was cut off again when Castiel answered, "I don't know, Sam." He then looked at the still standing stoic Death.

"You must be her adopted father."

"You would be correct in that assumption."

Sam looked back to Hermione and asked, "Why aren't you waking her up?"

Castiel responded, "We wanted to wait until you grasped hold of what happened and that you're alive." Sam nodded and sat down.

He looked to Castiel and asked, "Where's Dean?"

"With Lisa, by now."

Sam hummed, "Just like he promised." Sam then asked, "Is he happy?"

Castiel placed a hand on his shoulder. "He's grieving." Once they were all sure Sam was alright. Death replaced his child's soul. She erupted in a shining blue light and let off a deathly scream. Everyone except Death needed to cover their ears. Hermione opened her dark eyes and looked around and spotted the eyes of her family. Golden, Black, and crystal blue. She ignored them for a second and looked beside her to see Sam. She tried to get up to see if it was really him, but fell straight back down and was caught before she could hit the ground. Hermione looked into Gabriel's shining face and hugged him tightly.

She whispered happily, "Gabriel."

He chuckled. "Hey there, kiddo." She was helped up and spotted Death straight in front of her. She couldn't restrain herself from jumping into his arms and bursting into tears. Death didn't mind. He had saved his daughter. Hermione wiped away her happy tears and looked to her angel.

She refrained from jumping into his arms, but did crush him with a hug and said joyously, "Your wings are whole!"

He chuckled and gripped onto her tightly. "I'm glad you're here."

She sniffled and refused to keep crying. "I'm glad you guys saved us." He released her and she finally looked over to Sam.

She just gave him a bone crushing hug and told him, "I told you we wouldn't be in there for all eternity."

He chuckled. "Yeah. Just a month." The two shivered and looked to their saviors.

Hermione awkwardly shuffled her feet and asked, "What now?"

Death stroked her hair and said to her, "Now you decide your next move. I'll visit you more often. I promise." Hermione smiled to him and he disappeared.

Gabriel swept up his witch and said, "I make the same promise, kid. Expect more Gabriel in your life." Hermione giggled and Gabriel took something out of his pocket and handed it to her. It was her angel blade bracelet. Not a single scratch on it. She slowly slipped the piece perfectly on her right wrist where it belonged. Gabriel softly smiled at her and disappeared with a final kiss on the cheek. All that was left were the three.

Sam told her gently, "Dean went with Lisa."

Hermione nodded with a soft smile. "He'll have a good life."

Sam nodded. "Now, I want him to have that normal life, but I really think someone should be there to look after him."

Hermione nodded saddly. "You don't want to tell him you're alive?"

Sam shook his head. "You know he would just leave Lisa and fall straight back into hunting. If you were to show him you were alive, he would accept you into his home. You know how to live normally."

Hermione sighed. "I feel dirty about deceiving him."

Sam nodded. "I do too, but don't you want Dean to have a happy normal life with a kid he adores and a girl he loves?"

Hermione sighed and sat down on the dewy grass. "Yes. But what do I tell him? Hey Dean, I got out of the cage somehow, but your brother got left behind?" Hermione finally got an idea.

It was working slowly and she popped up from the ground and said to Sam, "We aren't doing any of that! I know exactly what we're going to do." Castiel shifted closer to her to hear her idea.

"I say we both go and tell him we got out of the cage and how it happened. There's no need to lie. We tell him that now that news would probably spread of our death through some means because the monsters always seem to know. Then, we say we want to live normal lives too! He sticks with Ben and Lisa, he gets to know we both exist, and we can hunt on the downlow if you really want. Win win for everybody!" Sam didn't know what to say.

All he could mutter was, "You are a genius Hermione!"

She smirked. "Trust me, I know."

Castiel was mulling over the plan. "I believe that would be good for everyone."

Hermione turned to her angel and asked, "What will you do?"

He took hold of her hand and told her, "I want to go to heaven and help my brothers and sisters. It must be chaos up there."

Hermione squeezed his hand. "Visit me at least?"

He grabbed her other hand and looked at her straight in the eyes. "Every chance I have. I'll come when you need help. I won't be late to save you ever again." Hermione smiled and decided not to tell him that he couldn't control everything. That sometimes, he wouldn't be there for her and he could change that.

The three decided to wait a single week until they meet Dean again. They needed to have at least a small amount of time to come to terms and deal with the emotional pain of being chewed on by satan and an archangel. After that week, they called Castiel.

Castiel teleported them to Lisa's house and they decided to just go in. There was no need to let the man suffer any longer. Sam began up the walk, but Castiel stopped Hermione. She looked at him questioningly. He seemed to be debating with himself. He finally just pulled her closer and was a hair's width away from her.

She decided to put the confused angel out of his misery and kissed him. At first he didn't react, but he soon kept up. It wasn't a flamboyant liplock or even a passionate embrace. It was only about three seconds and she pulled back from him with a stunned face. They both felt it. A little electric spark ignite and run through their bodies.

She slowly smiled at him and asked, "Are those human feelings of yours still confused?" He shook his head and pulled her into a hug.

"I know exactly how I feel."

She grinned brightly and released him. "Now you have to visit me more often. I'll be wanting to keep close tabs on you. Make sure none of those lady angels take you from me."

He told her seriously, "I would never cross you."

She chuckled and patted his arm. "I know you wouldn't." She gently pushed him away and laughed. "No more mushy stuff, Cas. Go rangle up your angel buddies." He smiled at her and disappeared with a flutter of his wings.

Hermione turned back to see Sam smiling at her with a small smirk and she blushed deeply. She had completely forgotten he was there. "Come on lover lady. We definitely need to tell Dean about this."

She turned even redder and hid her face. "Please don't." He laughed and just for a moment, they completely forgot about all their troubles and went to go greet their brother.


	15. Chapter 15

**So, Hermione and Sam in this story were only in the cage for about 8 hours. Significantly less time than Sam's body was actually in the cage. So, using Dean's 4 months is 40 hell years. A month in there would be about 10 years and that's a long while. So, doing the math with the help of a chemist because writing is more my area of expertise than algebra, 8 hours would equal a month in the cage. I would spell out the math for you, but honestly you would all fall asleep right here. So, believe me. I was going to make it a week which would be 2.5 years, but I couldn't be that cruel. I think a month with Lucifer and Michael torturing them to no end would be enough damage. Anywho,** _ **please review**_ **and ENJOY!**

* * *

 **Chapter 15**

Dean had opened his front door with a purpose to tell whoever it was at the door to go the hell away. However, when he spotted Sam and Hermione, he dropped the glass of alcohol he was holding. He didn't pull a knife on them or spray them with holy water. He just stared with wide and agony filled eyes.

There was a voice behind him that shouted, "Are you alright Dean?" That snapped him out of his complete shock and he slammed the door on their faces. They could hear him yell for Lisa to get somewhere safe and he was probably salting the door. Hermione sighed and looked at Sam with a smile.

"He hasn't changed." Sam chuckled and Hermione grabbed onto Sam and apparated them inside the house. Dean held a shotgun to them and didn't hesitate in shooting. Hermione pushed Sam out of the way and just barely avoided being hit.

He shouted at them, "You sick monsters!" Hermione groaned and apparated over to him, grabbed the gun and body binded him in three seconds flat. Hermione vanished the gun and whistled with a hand on her hip.

"Getting slow there old man. It's only been a week!" He growled at them and Hermione sat him on the couch to look at them.

"Look, Dean. We'll do the holy water, salt, silver test if it'll make you happy. Just, please don't shoot me. I really don't feel like being in any pain right now." The two cage escapee's got glasses of water, holyfield them, and then poured salt in them and chugged in front of Dean. Sam then looked in the drawers for a silver knife and they sliced their arms. Hermione made Sam slice her because she honestly didn't think she could bring herself to bring a knife to her own skin ever again.

Hermione looked to Dean expectantly and he looked about ready to cry. Hermione unbound him and he got up from the couch. He gripped them both in a hug. Hermione somehow ended up in the middle and honestly, she felt safe in that little huddle. Three siblings reunited.

Hermione snorted and pushed them aside. "No more lovey dovey. I want to see that beautiful family of yours." Dean smiled to her and ran up stairs to get Lisa and Ben. Hermione looked to Sam and straightened out her sleeves.

Their bodies were exactly the same way before they were pulled into the cage. Neither angels could heal Hermione's scars because they weren't scars anymore. They were like her skin. She was going to live with them for all eternity so she needed to get used to them.

There was the patter of hesitant feet coming down the stairs and Hermione looked to see the woman she knew as Lisa and a little boy that was the spitting image of his mother. Wavy Brown hair, piercing brown eyes, and tan freckled skin. All except his style of dressing which was more like Dean's.

Dean breathed deeply and held his hands out to Hermione and Sam. "Lisa, Ben. This is Sam, my brother. You probably remember him. But, this is someone you don't know. My sister, Hermione." Hermione waved her hand and Ben's eyes widened. He looked like he wanted to say something, but kept it to himself. She would ask him later.

Lisa turned to Dean and asked, "I thought you only had a brother?" Dean looked towards Hermione nervously and she just crossed her arms.

"Am I not good enough to mention to your girl?"

Dean took a step away from everyone and said to her, "I don't think I could have explained all your….witchiness. I don't even fully understand it."

Hermione just patted Dean on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Dean-o. I'm still working out the kinks."

Lisa asked a bit fearfully, "Witchiness?" Hermione winked towards her.

"Something you'll see very soon." Hermione looked to Ben who was dying to ask something.

Hermione looked to the other adults in the room and said, "Can I have a moment with, Ben?" She turned towards Lisa. "If that's alright with you?" Ben seemed to be begging his mom with his eyes and Lisa finally sighed and said it was fine. Sam, Dean and Lisa left to go chat in the dining room while Ben lead Hermione to the family room. As far away from the adults as he could get. Hermione sat down on the couch and motioned for Ben to ask his question.

He exploded in a whisper, "Are you Hermione Granger?" She blinked and he tried to explain himself. "I mean, obviously you aren't thirteen wearing Gryffindor robes and walking around with a wand, but I really want to know. Because, your name is Hermione and Dean said witch and you have the curly brown hair and then-." Hermione held up a hand and motioned him to come closer.

"Yes, Ben. I am Hermione Granger."

He jumped in excitement and asked, "Is magic real here? Where's Hogwarts?" He seemed to pout now. "Why didn't I get a letter?"

and said to the excited boy, "No. Hogwarts and my kind of magic don't exist here. I'm from an alternate world in a way and it seems like the author of the books is some sort of prophet or seer for that world. The woman probably thought she was just having great ideas for a book."

Ben calmed down a bit and asked, "Is it all true though? The stories?" Hermione stood up and patted him on the back.

"I promise I'll tell you when I read the books."

He finally looked up to her with all his courage, "Can I see some magic?" Hermione slowly slid a smirk upon her face and transformed into her Panther form.

Her tail flicked back and forth as Ben shouted, "Awesome!" Hermione pounced at him and he took off in a laughing sprint. The two passed the serious talking adults and Lisa nearly had a heartattack.

"Ben!"

She was about ready to try and shoot the damn thing when Dean yelled, "No Animagus in the house, Hermione! You know the rules!" They turned a corner and the panther seemed to roll its eyes. It shifted back into Hermione and she straightened out her jacket.

"You're no fun, ya know that?" It was his turn to roll his eyes when he motioned for her to sit.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm a really rule abiding person." Hermione snickered and Dean sent Ben upstairs for the moment.

Lisa was just staring at Hermione in shock and Hermione turned to ask Sam seriously, "Do I need to brew some more calming potion?" The man chuckled and stopped her from messing up the poor woman's kitchen with brewing.

Lisa finally stuttered out, "How?!"

Hermione snorted and asked, "How are you that amazed? Didn't you get a face full of changelings the last time the brothers were here?" Lisa swallowed and nodded. "Well, then me turning into a snarling beast isn't that surprising. Oh, have you ever seen a Hellhound up close? Now that is a snarling beast!"

Dean slowly sat Lisa down and muttered to the woman, "She's a bit overbearing, I know. I met her in a mental hospital."

She sent a stinging hex to his arse and said, "Last time I checked, I meet you when you were admitted there. So, yeah. Completely sound people you are." He grimaced and looked to Lisa. She was about to explode. And she did.

"I thought you hunted magical things!" Sam's jaw locked into place as Hermione crossed her arms defensively.

"I'm not a thing."

Lisa blushed and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. This is all just a bit new to me."

Hermione loosened up and asked, "Would you feel better if I just didn't talk about any supernatural for a bit?" The woman nodded and Hermione smiled. "So, Dean. Did Sam tell you what's going on?"

He nodded and sighed. "Are you sure that's what you guys want?" Hermione gave Sam a secretive glance and both nodded.

Sam told his brother, "We want you to have a normal life Dean. One where you don't _have_ to worry about things that go bump in the night." Dean looked at the two gratefully. Sam then continued, "Me and Hermione will get our own place. Somewhere near by." Dean raised a brow and looked at the two suspiciously. Hermione understood what he was insinuating and broke out into a full faced blush.

"Don't even think about it! It would just be cheaper to share a home." Sam slipped on a mischievous smirk and she glared at him. The glare did no good.

"It would never work either. Hermione and our favorite angel-."

Hermione got up and said loudly cutting him off, "I think I'm going to go steal the neighbor's house now! Lot's of memories to erase. See ya!" Hermione then disappeared and Sam cracked up laughing. Dean looked at him questioningly and Sam looked to his brother.

"What?"

Sam smirked. "I witnessed a long overdue kiss between our magical family."

Dean threw his hands up and shouted, "Finally! I thought it would never happen."

Sam chuckled. "Ditto."

Lisa cleared her throat and said, "So, are you two done gossiping or are we going to go tell Ben that he doesn't have to worry about you leaving?" Dean nodded and then turned to Sam.

"Good luck living with our nutcase." Sam gulped. It wouldn't be that bad.

Meanwhile, Hermione was sending the elderly couple across the street to a new home. They had all memories and everything, they just think that they moved into the new house a month ago. It was pretty difficult actually. Her and Sam would just have to deal with the questions if neighbors ever asked, "Hey, so where did the Parkens go?" They would just say, "Oh, they moved down the street. This is our home now homie's get used to it." There were a lot of details she didn't care to fix so if something popped up they would fix it on the spot. Hermione took a deep breath and looked around their now empty home. It was a simple floor plan really.

An entry doorway with living room to the right and kitchen to the left. A stairway ran in the middle with a closet underneath. Behind the kitchen and the living room was a dining room. Going upstairs would lead to the final floor with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and an office. Plus, there was a fully functional attic and basement. All they needed to do was furnish it.

Sam walked in the front entry way and looked around. "Please tell me you didn't kill the couple that lived here?"

She scoffed, "It would be a lot easier, but no. They're living in a now not for sale house down the block. All stuff still in boxes and they think they moved there because they needed a place with less stairs."

Sam nodded. "Smart."

"That I am Sammy."

The two looked at eachother and Sam childishly ran up the stairs saying, "I get first pick on rooms!" He opened both rooms and when he got to the largest one, Hermione was already setting up a bookshelf. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did you want this room?"

The man grumbled, "I really hate magic."

She chuckled, "No you don't. Trust me. Now, we need to buy some furniture. My magic is tired." Sam sighed and the two of them did some quick furniture shopping…...okay some quick furniture stealing. Let's just say that about six stores were extremely confused as to why their furniture was missing.

As it turns out, Sam actually had a pretty good decoration sense. He did his room and the dining room while Hermione did her room, the living room, and the kitchen. When they were completely done, they actually had a pretty swanky lookin' place.

The living room had light blue painted walls with hardwood floors. There was a black leather couch with an armchair to it's side. They had a dark wood coffee table in front of the couch on top of a blue rug with black borders. Then, they mounted a flat screen on the wall.

The kitchen was also painted light blue and nothing changed except now the fridge had some food and they had plates and cups with a coffeemaker, microwave, and toaster.

The dining room was painted the same color with hardwood floors, dark wood table and fancy paintings around the room that actually had protective wards on the inside of the canvas'.

Upstairs, the office was pretty plain with bookshelves they filled with lore books on everything, potions from Hermione's stores, and other miscellaneous things. They had two computers and two desks facing each other so they could do some hunting research if needed.

Their rooms were customized. Sam's walls were painted a deep green and he had a bed Hermione elongated to fit his monster hight. He had bookshelves and a dresser full of new cloths Hermione got just for him. He had a connected bathroom that he left as is except for the paint which Hermione changed to a lighter green. She also made a secret compartment in the walls throughout the house for easy weapons access.

Hermione's room was painted a deep night blue. She had a bed in the middle of the wall to her left with light blue bedding with black and grey pillows and a dark throw blanket. She had a bookshelf of all her just fun to read things on the wall by the bathroom door.

She painted the inside of her bathroom with the same night blue as her walls. The floor in the bathroom still had the original white tile. Hermione then placed a demon trap under a circle rug with outrageously colored swirls and left it on the hardwood floors. She had a trunk at the end of her bed where she actually emptied her backpack full of junk. She got some regular clothes and placed those in a dresser to the left side of her bed. She had a standing mirror on the other side of the room that faced the door. She then had a window above her bed that she made a permanently ticking salt line on. The curtains over the window were a heavy grey.

The last thing she added to her room was a small charm she learned at Hogwarts. She waved her hands across the walls and then flicked off the lights. It was pitch black until the walls became lightly glowing from the now painted stars. All the stars were a rainbow of colorful twinkling stars whenever she turned her lights out and disappeared when the lights were on. The dark really did unnerve her a bit. And adding all the made it happier. And if she ever wanted the color to go away, she could do that with a snap of her fingers.

Sam came to check out her room and all he could say was, "You really do just place your personality everywhere." She looked at him confused and he flicked on the light. "Mysterious and Sirius on the outside." He then flicked off the lights so stars shone. "Beautifully crazy and scattered on the inside."

She shoved him playfully. "Alright poet. Are you saying I'm not pretty on the outside?" He pretended to think about it and she scoffed and walked away doing a dramatic hair flip. "Bitch, I am gorgeous!"

Sam then followed in front of her doing the same thing with his longish flowing locks, "Not as gorgeous as me." Hermione burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.

When she finally wheezed out, "Don't….do….that….ever...again!" She giggled some more. "You looked ridiculous." Sam just smiled, glad he could make her laugh.


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey guys! I thought we could use a mellowed out chapter after all the drama. It's still good, just a lot more laughs. And obviously not all the drama is gone. Just a bit misplaced. Consider this a filler. Every story needs a few fillers! Review and ENJOY!**

* * *

 **Chapter 16**

The morning after Hermione and Sam settled in, Dean came over and unlocked the door with a key Hermione dropped off. In anyone else's hands it would burn at the touch.

Hermione and Sam were still snoozing so he looked around a bit. All he could think was, "They really know how to spruce up a place." To be honest, he was expecting half set up stuff that looked more like a motel. Then he remember that Hermione could make any pace look like Buckingham Palace with a snap of her fingers. That made him wonder where the neighbors went. He quickly decided not to think about that.

Dean traveled up to the office and looked at all the bookshelves. Hermione's witchy stuff was there along with new and old lore books. There were two fancy computers and Dean did not want to think about where they got all this stuff.

Finally he came to the two rooms. He opened Sam's door first and found his brother peacefully sleeping on a bed he could actually fit on. Dean smiled and slowly closed the door. He then went over the Hermione's oddly colored door. It was sporting a paint splatter look with reds. He believed she was going for blood splattered and succeeded. He slowly turned the doorknob and looked into her room. He was a bit amazed to see shining lights on the walls resembling stars. But not regular white stars. They were multicolored and varied in sizes and intensity of light. He shook his head and closed the door. Looks like they both settled in just fine.

Dean settled on the couch with a cup of coffee he brewed and wondered what a normal life would be like. With Sam and Hermione alive and out of the cage, he didn't have to suffer the torment of knowing that every second they were being torn apart by Lucifer and MIchael. It was a tough week when those two were gone. He had nightmares and Lisa tried her best to comfort him. He kept doubting himself for all that he was doing and it was just a mess.

When he first saw the two in his doorway he honestly thought they were sick minded shapeshifters or something. His relief when that was proved wrong was immense. He just could not believe that they returned. Sam had told him that they were only in the cage for about 8 hours. That was about a month in hell time. He asked why they didn't come sooner and the answer he got was that they needed time alone to deal with the horrors of what lay in the cage. Sam refused to go into detail about it.

Dean next asked his brother how they busted from the cage. He told Dean that it was a mixture of Death, Gabriel, and Castiel. He was shocked that Gabriel was alive while Sam explained that Hermione had saved him. That girl really did make friends everywhere she went.

When Hermione and Sam left, him and Lisa had a long chat about what Dean wanted to do. He told her that he really did want to have a normal life. Now that his family was back, he could go on in this normality adventure with him. Lisa was ecstatic and so was Ben. Ben took a great liking to Hermione in that short amount of time. He kept asking Dean during breakfast if Hermione was coming over. He said he would have to wait and see.

An hour passed and soon there were loud footstep clampering down the steps. Sam must have finally woken up from the smell of coffee. Dean cleared his throat and Sam quickly stuck his hand straight through the wall and pulled out a gun, pointing it at Dean. Dean held up his hands and Sam sighed, placing the gun back.

"Don't do that." While Sam ambled over to get coffee, Dean inspected the ghost wall. He stuck his hand through it and it felt like he was shoving his hand through a waterfall. He placed his hand over a gun and two knives in some kind of holding case.

Dean quickly took his hand out and pouted. "I want one."

Sam chuckled. "You'll have to ask Hermione" Sam came back to the living room with a cup of coffee and a cup of tea.

Dean asked, "You memorized how she likes her tea?" Sam rolled his eyes and placed the cup down on the coffee table. "Dude, if Hermione and Cas weren't making goo-goo eyes at each other all the time, I would say you two were a thing."

Again, Sam rolled his eyes and then responded, "Being nice to someone and remembering how they like a drink they have _every morning_ does not mean liking them romantically. I just pay attention to those things. And you know what?"

"What?"

"I always get the first hug." Dean thought it over and his eyes widened.

"You're right!"

Sam snorted as he took a sip of his coffee. "Of course I am."

Dean began to think to himself. "She really needs a nickname. Saying Hermione is getting tiring."

Sam leaned back in his seat. "She's already expressed to us many times that she hates stupid nicknames."

Dean stayed silent for a moment before commenting, "Yeah and I remember that time I called her 'Mione. Gosh that girl went Medusa on my ass. I think I actually began to turn to stone with that glare."

Sam nodded. "We've tried Herms, Mia, 'Mione and Mi. We almost died using every single one of them."

Dean groaned. "There has to be something!"

Sam laughed to himself. "We can call her Glinda. Like, Glinda the Good Witch in the Wizard of Oz."

A voice spoke up from the staircase saying, "I swear if you call me that you both really will die." They quickly turned towards her to find that she was completely wrapped in her comforter so only her face was exposed. She ambled over to the coffee table, somehow grabbed her tea, and then plopped onto the armchair and rolled into a ball, sipping her tea.

Dean snorted. "Nice to see you so domesticated." Hermione growled and threw her blanket off, transforming into her animagus.

She hopped on top of Dean and he just knew she was asking menacingly, "Domesticated!?" She growled and bared her teeth.

Sam gently tugged at her tail and she looked to him. "You're going to crush his ribs and we're almost out of pain potion." The panther grumbled and hopped off of Dean, cuddled up under her blanket on the floor and seemed to fall back asleep.

Dean finally was able to get up and say, "Let's call her, Kitten." The two were surprised to hear no objection to the name.

"Kitten it is then!" Dean chuckled. "It took us his long to give her a nickname. We must be getting rusty." Sam looked almost shocked and the two busted out in laughter. Hermione growled from beneath the blanket and the brothers quickly quieted down.

Hermione slept until about eleven. The boys had to wake her up then. She had grumbled and pounded up the steps, leaving the blanket behind. She came back down with a clean and smiling face. Her curly hair was contained in a french braid and she had on her usual dark cloths. Her leather jacket, black jeans, and a dark read longsleeve shirt.

Dean spoke up behind her, "You know it's alright to show a bit of skin."

She glared at him. "I really don't feel like people staring at my arms all day."

He shrugged. "You have the scars on your neck and hands too. I think it makes you look badass." Hermione groaned and snapped her fingers. Her blanket and spilled tea were cleaned from the floor.

"Dean, they're weird runes. If a hunter were to see, I'd be spotted as monster."

Dean held up his hands. "Fine, cranky pants. I just don't want you dyin' in any sweltering heat."

She smirked. "Cooling charms, Dean. They work like a, well, like a charm." He fake grimaced at the awful pun. Hermione just ignored it. "I'm going to work on outside protection today. I'm going to make this place invisible to monster radar. Every single monster. Maybe Bobby could-." Hermione paused with a wide-eyed look. The brothers quickly went over to her and asked what was wrong.

She exploded, "Bobby still thinks we're in a cage!"

Sam face palmed and Dean groaned. "He was right all along! We are idjits."

Hermione grabbed Sam. "Monster protection can wait." She then apparated to Bobby's and Dean was left standing there.

"Well, time to go job hunting."

Hermione and Sam popped up in Bobby's house and completely forgot that the man was hunter first and foremost. So, as soon as they popped in, a gun was pointed to them with a nasty snarl. Bobby had such a mean look. Smelled overly of alcohol too. "You been drinkin'?"

He growled menacingly, "What kind of sick joke is this? What are ya!" Hermione and Sam threw up their hands in surrender.

Sam stated, "Well, I'm a human and she's a witch with a dying complex. We just got out of the cage and would appreciate to not have any pain thrown our way." Bobby blinked, but didn't put down his weapon.

Hermione sighed, "What can we do to prove it?" Well, apparently it was to splash them with salty holy water, slash them with silver, and do a small chant to figure out if the were just hallucinations. The man finally threw down his weapon and pulled the two into a hug.

"You two….how-how did you escape?"

Hermione lead the obviously shaken up Bobby to his couch and Sam answered, "Well, Death, Gabriel, and Cas broke us out."

"All of em'?"

Hermione smiled happily. "All of them."

Sam chuckled. "All because Hermione loves to make friends."

She blushed. "Hey, one of them actually adopted me, not the other way around."

"Yeah and the archangel you just happened to bond with on a prankster level."

Hermione crossed her arms. "It was just a silly pink hair trick."

"Of course. On a _God_ , I might add." Hermione waved him off. He then continued in a dramatic fashion, "And then, after becoming Deaths child and best buds with an archangel, you manage to capture the heart of our unsuspecting Castiel."

Hermione blushed once more. "Fine! I make friends everywhere. I just have that personality. Leave it be."

Bobby interrupted, "Whoa! Capture the heart?"

Hermione looked away, "It's nothing. Honestly. Sam is just being annoying."

"Oh, com'on, Kitten. You just gonna leave Uncle Bobby out of it?"

Hermione glared at Sam and said with all seriousness, "Next time you meet a girl that makes your heart sing, I'm going to be right there, making sure I have some embarrassing baby photos, real or unreal."

He leaned forward with a smug smirk. "Bring it on, Kitty-Kitty." She let off a Panther growl and jumped him in human form. He expected her to attack him or at least throw a punch. Nope. All she did was change forms, and lay on top of him, making sure to use every ounce of dead weight. He tried to breath right, but was having a bit of trouble.

"Off. Hermione. Mercy!" She just yawned widely and Bobby could not believe his eyes. His family was back. The whole deal. He watched Sam struggle under the wild cat's weight and thought of how much weight just lifted from his shoulders.

After a while, Bobby had to coax Hermione off of Sam with a slab of meat that made her animal side go wild with hunger. She attacked the steak with ferocity and Sam caught his breath. He decided to stop bringing up the angel and witch's special moment. He didn't want to lose a limb. Thinking that brought up a particular cage memory that he pushed back instantly.

While the two took a week off, Hermione had taught him strategies to keeping nasty memories away. Even memories as nasty as hell. He didn't think they would ever get better, but she helped a lot. Their torture in that cage wasn't just physical. Their minds were messed with. Sometimes, when Lucifer was bored, he would make them think they escaped. It never lasted long. Soon, Michael would get angry and attack them physically again. Sometimes the two angels would be in their vessels, but they were mostly always celestial beings tearing them apart with burning and slashing. Meaning, they were always blinded. Eyes, always melted.

Sam once again shoved the memories deep down and got up from the floor. Hermione was still tearing into the meat, but Bobby was watching him with a concerned look. Sam waved away Bobby's worry and looked to an almost carefree Hermione. How did she do it? How did she keep down all the memories and manage to smile? He had actually asked her once.

She had replied a bit sadly, "The mental disorders help. They bring a bit of liveliness to my life. I would be just a staring empty shell of pity without a vision of dear old Bella to kick my rear in gear." He admired her greatly for it.

The two left Bobby's house after a few drinks and went back to their headquarters. There, Dean was nowhere to be seen. Hermione decided to do her outside warding and Sam wanted some alone time to be with his thoughts.

Hermione looked at him seriously and said, "Don't let it eat away at you. Trust me. You'll be dead by morning." He gave her a reassuring smile and off Hermione went.

She exited the house and looked around. Time to get to work. Hermione went through the front and surveyed the area. First things first. She needed a little guideline. Hermione sat on the ground on the front walkway and placed her hands against the grass. The breeze of the evening air caressed her skin and she took deep calming breaths. A picture began to form in her head. Like a blueprint made of magic. She could see every secret compartment she had made, every detail about the home. Then, she made a magical outline. It ran perfectly around every inch of the house. She slowly began to erase her magical signature. Actually, she erased all signatures. As soon as someone stepped through the front door, it was like they just disappeared. Therefore, making it the safest place on earth. She would consider a fidelius charm, but that would make it invisible to everyone that didn't have permission. She would go to those lengths if needed, but they were fine at the moment.

Hermione opened her eyes and they flashed with magic. She took a deep breath and started the protection. Angels, demons, witches, shapeshifters, vampires, and werewolves. None of them would even be able to sense the house. She added a few more and then some more. Everything either her using pure magic or symbols she got from Bobby. However, she made sure to leave a slip in the angel warding for Castiel. She didn't want him banned from the home.

Hermione also had time to set up the shed in the backyard. The brothers made habit of calling in favors from angels and demons on occasion. The shed was set up for all their summoning needs. Demon trap rug and everything.

It was one in the morning when she finally went inside. Stepping in the silent house was a bit depressing. She felt so restless. Memories pressed against her Occlumency walls. She tried so hard to keep it all away, but Lucifer had really done a number on them. Michael too. She never knew _angels_ could be such torture experts. It was like facing a thousand boggarts and being restrained while you were scared to death. Except, she wasn't allowed to die. Which, the two angels took much advantage of. Sam was always haphazardly placed back together. It was sickening.

Hermione shook her head and threw off her jacket. It was getting too hot. Even with the cooling charms. Hermione paced and pressed the memories back. Her hands shook violently and she bit her lip so hard it bleed. She threw her shoes off and pulled up her sleeves. It was starting to feel like the burning pit. She was having a hard time breathing. She was the best ever at mind arts, why couldn't she control herself? Why wasn't it working! Hermione tromped into the kitchen and grabbed hard liquor. What she would give for some firewhiskey. She drank it straight from the bottle. It wasn't smart, hell it didn't even help! She just needed to wash it away _somehow_. She felt so powerless. So, out of control!

Hermione dropped her liquor when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Sam's concerned greenish blue eyes. The bottle smashed against the floor and she swore loudly. She snapped her shaky fingers and the mess went away.

"I'm fine."

He scoffed. "I can see that."

She waved him away and began pacing again. "Just go back to bed. I didn't mean to wake you." He shook his head.

"I wasn't sleeping. I can't sleep." Hermione stopped pacing and her worry for herself faded away. She was focused on Sam.

"Want to talk about it?"

He crossed his arms. "This is about you. Not me."

She raised a brow. "I think it's equally about both of us." They stared at each other and Sam narrowed his eyes.

"You're a hypocrite, you know that?" She tensed. "Castiel goes on a bender and you tell him to talk about it. What are you doing now? You're drinking like Dean Winchester."

She stood straight with flashing eyes. "I'm not wasted you dolt. I just-"

"Needed to wash away the pain? Yeah. That's called a Dean move. It doesn't solve anything. Not even for a moment."

"I know."

"Then talk to me!" Hermione blew her top. "I can't worry about myself when you're in pain! It's how I'm wired!"

Sam loosened his stance. "What do you mean?"

Hermione growled and said menacingly, "All my life, I've been _protection_. A cover up. A plan. _A tool._ Harry and Ron break the rules, who's there to save their asses? Me! Harry and Ron forgot to do their homework, who's fault was it? Mine! I get petrified by a fucking basilisk after figuring out that the Chamber of Secrets monster _was_ a basilisk. Harry and Ron are finally smart enough to figure it out. Who gets passed off while Harry and Ron are crowned reigning heroes? Me!"

Tears were then streaming down her face. "Harry's godfather is apparently an innocent escaped convict ready to murder for revenge. Lupin's a werewolf, Buckbeak get's killed, dementors come. Who's there to risk time travel and clean up all the messes? Me! Who's the only person who stuck by Harry in the tournaments? Yeah. you guessed it! Me! Yet, Ron is still the better friend? Who takes a hit from Dolohov in the Ministry of Magic that was meant to hit Harry? Me! The only person who was grieved was Sirius. I almost died for the ungrateful brats and all I get is a, "Get up 'Mione, you need to help us research." Who's the one who tries to save Harry from dark spells in a random potions text book? Me! I'm ignored for trying to protect my friends! Then, I risk it all. I go with them on the damned horcrux hunt. My parents are gone, but not once did they ask. Why?"

Hermione spat out, "Because of bloody Harry Potter! All about him! Ron leaves, I stay. Ron's welcomed back without question and if I were to leave, I wouldn't even get a slight smile of relief. I get tortured for the war! Tortured! Then, I'm told, "Hey, 'Mione, make polyjuice and dress up as your tormentor and break into Gringotts." only a month after my torture! But, you know, it's war."

Hermione stepped forward in an almost pleading way. "No one ever asked me how I felt, so my feelings obviously don't matter! I lose my sanity, my future, my life all for bloody Harry Potter. I was always second best to him. Always!"

Hermione screamed, "The first person besides my dead parents to ever make sure I was alright and make me feel better was Castiel! Cas was there for me. He visited, he helped, he cared!" Hermione broke down and fell to the ground in a bout of tears.

"I'm just a tool everyone uses. What do my feelings matter? All I am to anyone is a know-it-all with the juice to be a dangerous weapon! Don't get me wrong. I love my boys. I loved my world. But I don't understand why nothing loved me back!" Sam just stared for a second. He had never heard any of this. She always seemed so happy to him. She had never said anything. Sam slowly sat in front of her and hugged the small sobbing girl. She cried into his chest as he kept her close.

Sam said to her comfortingly, "You aren't a tool to me. Not to Bobby and definitely not to Dean or Cas. You're my sister. Dean's too. We care about you. You just need to tell us, aright? You need to speak up about this stuff." Hermione sniffled and nodded.

She looked up to him with her dark eyes, "You swear?"

Sam held her tighter. "I swear."

He held her for a while and both just got their bearings when Hermione whispered, "I wish Cas was here." There was a swishing behind them and there in front of them was a disheveled Castiel. Gosh he looked awful.

"All you need to do is ask." Hermione turned towards her angel and he walked towards her.

Sam left the two be and Hermione asked Cas, "What's wrong?"

He smiled softly, "Now isn't the time for my problems." For once, she didn't push. She just asked, "Stay with me? Please? I know I'm better now, but I just…..." He nodded. Soon, Hermione was sound asleep in her bed with Castiel holding her close. He didn't understand why she had such a major breakdown, but he was guessing it was the overwhelming horror filled memories of hell mixed with major magic depletion of putting up the massive amount of wards.

He was trying to figure out how he could be there for her more. Honestly, heaven wasn't going too well. Raphael was threatening a takeover. He was to bow down or be taken down. Cas just couldn't let Raphael rule. The apocalypse would be fully back on track. It was something Castiel could not let pass. He sighed and shook the thoughts from his head. Now wasn't the time. All he wanted to do right now was make sure his witch got a full, peaceful night of rest. He would there for her. No matter how difficult that may be in the upcoming future.


	17. Chapter 17

**So, guys. I have no clue what I'm going to do with this season. Sam was originally soulless, now he's not. It's difficult. I'll try though! Stick with me Faithful! So, while I come up with a game plan, here's a small and sweet little chapter.**

 **Also. I have to make something very clear here. Very** _ **very**_ **clear. HERMIONE IS OOC! OKAY? GOOD! REMEMBER THAT! IT'S PRETTY EASY TO NOTICE! Alright. Sorry I didn't flippin advertise it, but I don't think it matters too much while writing fanfiction. You like it, you read. You don't? You move on. Sound fair? Okay. My rant is over. Please Review and ENJOY!**

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 **Chapter 17**

A month after the whole apocalypse incident and Dean was living the normal life. He got a job at a construction site and was a total soccer dad at times. Hermione and Sam had gone back to hunting. They decided if it came to it, they would tell Dean. For now, they just wanted him to have his normal life for as long as he could.

So, their hunts went good, fast and efficient. They were finding odd monsters though. Werewolves out without a full moon, vampires leaving corpses out in daylight, shapeshifters that took more than a touch of silver to hurt. The two went on a wide search. Bobby did some hunts too. There were some creatures that were migrating. A usual African native soul eater came all the way to Ohio to feed. It was crazy!

More time passed and Castiel had only come around a few times. He looked so tired and worn every single time. Hermione tried so hard to cheer him up and even succeeded a few times. She took him to the cinema with Ben to see a superhero movie. Both boys enjoyed it thoroughly. Castiel spent their drive home asking Ben confusing questions about the main heroes. It was a sight to see.

Through the happy moments, she asked Castiel what was going on in heaven. He would look at her with such an odd look. Like he wanted so much to tell her, but something was stopping him. It was literally weighing down on him. He just wouldn't talk to her.

Gabriel came to visit her too. When she had a pounding headache from figuring out the monster nonsense, he would pop in and whisk her away to some relaxing place where they both helped prank big time douchebags. Hermione could always relax with him.

Hermione also got a few visits from her adoptive father. He would just pop in at random moments, new bag of greasy fast food every time. Sam once walked in on Hermione giggling about Death talking about this one idiot reaper that didn't know he was a reaper for about a month because of some witchy spell. Sam had walked straight out of the room and decided to knock next time.

That day, Hermione was sitting in Dean's backyard in the dead of night. He had a better garden. Lisa had a green thumb no one could compete with. That's when her heightened hearing picked up something. Whimpering. Hermione turned towards the house and disappeared into the living room. She looked in Dean's room. It wasn't him or Lisa. So, only one other person.

She slowly walked into Ben's room to find him cowering under his blankets in an obvious nightmare. Hermione sighed and walked over to the boy. She gently touched his shoulder and he violently awoke. Ben looked around in a panic and saw a dark standing Hermione. She was very under dressed in his eyes. She usually wore a jacket and long sleeve shirt. However, her arms were completely exposed in the short sleeve black shirt. She stood over him darkly. Almost scary. But he knew her. That was just how she looked. Ben calmed his breathing as he looked at all the scars.

"Hermione."

She tilted her head. "What were you dreaming about?"

He looked away embarrassed. "Nothing. You can leave." He didn't hear her leave. She stood in front of him and waited for him to tell her what was wrong. He sighed loudly and invited her to sit down. She did so quietly. Her eyes never leaving his face.

"I keep dreaming about, Dean." She tilted her head once again. She wanted him to continue. She would listen. "I keep dreaming that he won't come home one day. That a monster will get him and then come for me and my mom." He looked to her with unshed tears. "Now that I know monsters are real, it gets hard to believe that I'm safe. Dean makes me feel safe. I don't want him to leave." Hermione closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them again.

She slowly took hold of his sweaty hands and said gently, "I'm not going to promise you that Dean won't ever leave. He's a hunter first and foremost. I don't know how long this normal gig will sit with him." Ben looked down sadly, but Hermione continued, "However, I can make you a promise that Dean will never die on my watch. Well, won't stay dead."

Ben smirked a bit. Hermione thought for a moment and told him she would be right back. She came back in a second and had two things in her hands. She passed him the object and he studied it. It was a shining gold coin. Odd though. It has a weird symbol on it and a date like eighteen ninety three. He looked at her confused and she held up an identical coin. It finally hit him what they were. "DA coins!"

She smiled. "Indeed they are. The one you're holding was Neville's."

He smiled. "I always liked Neville."

Hermione smiled and sat down. "Me too. I used to have a crush on the boy, but he liked Luna."

Ben laughed quietly. "I never imagined it."

Hermione whispered, "Neither did anyone else." The two giggled. Okay. It was a lie. The coin really wasn't Neville's. She just wanted to see him smile. Give him something special. Happy.

Hermione waved her hand over the coin. A gold chain sprouted from it and Hermione took out a pin.

"I need a bit of your blood, darling." He held out his finger and she pricked it quickly. She wiped the blood on each coin and then did the same with her blood. She muttered a spell over them and they flashed gold. Hermione sighed happily and placed the coin necklace around his neck.

"Now it's only connected to my coin and no one else can read it, but you. All you need to do is say Galleon and whatever message you have for me." He looked at it excitedly and she caught his attention with seriousness. "This isn't a game, though Ben. This is for emergencies. Real emergencies. If you call for something other than that, I'll have to take it away. Got it?" He gulped and nodded.

Hermione turned her coin into a necklace and put it on. "I'll be weighed down with family items soon!" He looked at her confused and she decided to indulge his curiosity.

"Well, I have your coin, then this." She held up the bracelet and showed him the golden feather on it. "That's from my buddy, Gabriel. The archangel." His eyes widened dramatically. Then she twisted her wrist and the bracelet turned into her angel blade.

He jumped back and she said, "This is an angel blade from my angel, Castiel." She turned it back into a bracelet and then showed him the scythe tattoo. She touched it and the darkness visibly pulsed through her veins.

"This is from my adoptive father."

"Who is he?"

She smiled widely, "You know him. Death." His eyes nearly popped out of his head.

" _The_ Death?" Hermione nodded and placed her bracelet back on.

He pointed to her scars and asked innocently, "Are those from anyone?" Her face fell and she really wished she had worn sleeves.

"Well, uh. You see. I was held captive for a long while. Two years I believe. I….I did these to myself." He blushed, embarrassed for asking.

She sat down and told him lightly, "It's fine, Ben. I was in a mental hospital. I've been asked these things many times. I have no shame in it. I did it to commit mass murder of my world. It had gone sour. Dark wizard take over." She smirked maliciously. "So, I blew up the planet."

He gasped. "You can do that?"

She shrugged. "Apparently so. Being muggleborn, I knew of science. What I did was meant to make a blast so severe, it touched the Earth's core through high energy strings of magic." He didn't even know what to say.

All he muttered was, "Please don't blow up our planet."

Hermione laughed and tucked Ben back into bed. "I promise, darling. I like this planet. I want to keep it." He smiled and she started to walk towards the door.

He whispered quietly, "I still can't sleep." Hermione turned to him and began to think.

She finally said, "Scoot over." He did so and she laid beside him, looking up at the ceiling.

"I have trouble sleeping without my angel beside me. Now with him trying to fix heaven and all, I need some way to get to sleep without potions." He looked to her questioningly and she smiled patiently.

She explained, "I find my happy memory. Something I can hold onto. Now, when I find my happy memory, I can do this." She closed her eyes and found her happiest memory. It was the first time Castiel ever truly comforted her. After she had taken down Sam when he was on a rampage through Glenwood. He told her she wasn't a monster. It made her feel safe for the first time in a long time. He gave her peaceful rest without asking anything in return. He was just…..there. It always made her heart soar just thinking about it.

Hermione felt energy travel up her arm and release through her fingertips. She opened her eyes to be faced with a glowing white chattering otter. She always expected her patronus to change. With her heart going towards her angel and her animagus being a panther. That made her reassess herself. She was still hyper, curious, intelligent, and protective. She noticed a difference a while back though. Her patronus otter had beautiful wings. She had smiled at that. It looks like her heart really did belong to a clueless and childish angel.

Ben looked at the skipping and gliding otter in child like wide eyed wonder. He held out a hand to it and the otter made a whimsical chattering sound. The otter disappeared when he touched it and he instantly felt a wave of calm and happiness. His shoulders relaxed and he forgot all about his nightmare. His eyes slowly closed from all the excitement and exhaustion of the night. He draped his arm over the large panther that now lay beside him. The two fell asleep in complete peace of the shining night.

The next morning, Dean went upstairs to see why Ben wasn't up. It was really late in the morning. He slowly cracked open the door and found dark shape near Ben. His instincts kicked in and he was going to attack, but he noticed what the dark shape was. A panther. He sighed and walked further in. He was going to shake Ben awake, but Hermione yowled softly and stretched over the sleeping boy.

He chuckled, "Come on, Kitten. Lisa is going to throw a fit if she knows a full grown woman panther slept in the same bed as her son."

Hermione growled and jumped from the bed and shifted. "Well, then Lisa needs to get used to me already."

Dean sighed and shook his head. "She's used to you just fine. She's just not familiar with your habits. No matter how many time's Ben slips and calls you Auntie Hermione." Hermione smiled widely. She always lit up when Ben did that, but Lisa always frowned. It was odd. Maybe it was because she was a witch.

Hermione snuck out the window and apparated back to her home. Sam was there, drinking a cup of coffee.

He asked without looking up, "Where were you?"

She grabbed some tea and responded, "I was sitting in Dean's back yard. I like Lisa's garden. Well, Ben had a nightmare and I helped him get to sleep."

Sam looked up and asked, "Lisa kick you out? I imagine she wouldn't be so happy."

Hermione shook her head. "Nah. I left when Dean came in. I don't understand what the big deal is. You guys make it sound so…" She cringed. "Pedophilish." Sam thought about it. That was probably how Lisa thought of it in some way.

He shrugged. "She's not in tune with you like we are. Give it time." Hermione sighed and prepared her tea, grabbing the paper from him.

There wasn't anything really. She sighed deeply. "This is going to be a long day."


	18. Chapter 18

**Next chapter! I hope you're liking it. And the happy normal life phase is ending soon. I know you guys are just dying for action. Well, soon my pretties! And also, this one is super short. Like, majorly. I think I might have fallen out of love with this piece of work, but who knows. Maybe inspiration will strike me once more. But for now, consider this a chapter marking my hiatus. Don't cry! I know it's sad. Just….stick with me, yeh? Review and ENJOY!**

* * *

 **Chapter 18**

Time passed slowly for the family of three. Sam and Hermione were in over their heads with this monster thing and Dean was starting to feel the ache of not hunting. He felt the need to look through the papers for a case or take Baby for a long ride. He kept reminding himself that he was normal. He didn't _need_ to save lives anymore. But, that made him feel so much worse. While he was sitting on his ass, the world was suffering from monsters. He began to have nightmares about them. Monsters attacking random people and even Lisa and Ben on occasions. He once had a dream where he watched Sam and Hermione find him torn to shreds. He woke up straight away.

Lisa was getting extremely worried. So worried that she actually did something very unusual. She walked across the street, knocked on the door, and waited. Sam opened the door and blinked owlishly at the woman.

"Lisa."

She noddd. "Sam. Is, uh, is Hermione home?" He nodded slowly and invited her in. She stepped in and looked around. It was so normal.

Sam yelled up the steps, "Hermione! You're needed!" They heard a small thump and then the girl rushed down the steps, sliding on the railing.

She looked at Lisa confused. "How can I help you?"

Lisa took a deep breath and said, "Uh, well. Dean's been having severe nightmares and I-."

Hermione cut the woman off and said, "Well, duh. You do now what he did for a living right?"

Lisa stuttered out, "Well, of course! But, since, you have magic. I was wondering-."

"If I could relieve my brother of his nightmares? Lisa, if I could do that without chugging highly addictive potions, I would be sleeping easy every night." She tried again, but Hermione sighed. "Look. I know you care, but I can't do anything. All you can do is be there for him. Reassure him that you guys are fine." Lisa closed her eyes and stood straighter. She walked out briskly and slammed the door. Hermione really like Lisa, but man could she be a full on Gryffindor. So stubborn. She didn't mind. Hermione would be doing the same thing.

Hermione caught a small job going on in the town. People showing up in their homes with whited over eyes and drained of all juice. Hermione called dibs on the job while Sam stayed in the house and research. Hermione had been told to make sure whatever was sucking people dry was put down fast. She didn't want this thing to come close to Dean.

Hermione set off and did her usual things. She dressed in her long black coat, official suit, and went to the crime scene or coroners. This time, there was a fresh body. She walked up to the officer guarding the scene, flashed the badge Dean made for her and was admitted access. Honestly, she could just walk in there invisible or with a pocket full of mind control. However, she loved the acting. Tricking everyone and they actually believed her one hundred percent. It was kind of like live action role playing. Was there an official name for it? She had no clue.

Hermione walked up to the main detective and held up her badge. "Special Agent Goodspell. Walk me thru this." He nodded and Hermione cringed at the name. Dean just thought he was the funniest person on the planet. Her badge read Glinda Goodspell. She hexed him a few times for it. He still laughed his ass off.

Hermione looked around the extremely clean crime scene. The only thing to show signs of a struggle was a knocked over glass and a few scattered papers. The detective turned and lifted the sheet off the body. "Miss Landly. She was only reported dead when a neighbor called to report not seeing her leave for work for the last two days and missing poker night without an R.S.V.P." Hermione nodded and looked to her wide open blank eyes. What a shame. She asked for a pair of gloves and turned her face. All up her neck were very visible blue veins.

"And these?"

He sighed. "To tell you the truth agent, I have no idea." Hermione nodded and waved her hand quickly over the body. There was a faint sense of magic. Not her kind, but one she recognized.

"Gjin."

The detective asked, "Gin?" Hermione smiled charmingly at him.

"Nothing, Detective." She said her goodbyes and told him she would be in touch. Which, was a complete falsity because she had a mutant Gjin to catch. Damn! Her and Sam picked up one of these before. They could kill with a swift poisonous touch. It was insane how much they evolved in such a short time. It was actually impossible if science even still existed!

Hermione swiftly walked down to an alleyway with purpose. She felt this odd sense of someone watching her. She always trusted that feeling. It always told her when Martin had a curious eye on her and it saved her when Dolohov snuck up behind her and Harry. She felt a prick of pain in her chest. Stupid Death Eater.

She flicked her wrist as she lit a fake cigarette. Her magic traveled through her area and she spotted four people hiding from her. She swore. They were completely blocking the entrance and holding loaded weapons. She could only do one thing. She took a drag of her prop cigarette and swiftly threw it behind her. Right by the four people's shoes. She could see them begin to move in. So, Hermione snapped her fingers and the cigarette exploded in a puff of smoke. She disappeared while they were confused.

Hermione smiled. It was one of the Weasley's favorite tricks next to Peruvian instant darkness. Which, she still couldn't figure out how to make. Everyone took the twins for under achievers. No. Those boys were genius' and she treated them like it. They always loved her for that.

Hermione threw her coat down and yelled to a studying Sam, "We have other hunters!"

Sam looked to her. "Other hunters?"

"They trapped me in an alley. No one got to me."

Sam sighed in relief. "Do we need to relocate?"

Hermione shook her head. "I apparated away with them blinded in smoke. We should be fine." She looked to her room adoringly. "Plus. I don't think I could ever give up our beautiful home." He chuckled. Hermione really grew strong attachments.

The two of them continued the hunt as normal. Well, they tried to, but Dean came busting in the house in a bit of a panic. "I'm seeing things!" Hermione and Sam looked to each other. They really hoped Dean hadn't come in contact with the Gjin.

Dean told them of him finding claw markings everywhere and how they couldn't be real because honestly, scratches are never that perfect. It was finally time to tell Dean.

Sam slowly sat his brother down and said, "We have a perfect explanation for this. You just, you need to stay calm and not explode."

Dean eyed the two suspiciously. "Fine."

Sam started off and said, "We think there's a mutant Gjin they're super evolved and you may be a target."

Dean got strangely still. "You've been hunting?"

Hermione sighed and responded, "Yeah."

Sam and Hermione just sat there and waited for the explosion, but it never came. Dean just sucked in a heavy breath and exhaled with the words, "Okay." Hermione and Sam could almost feel their jaws slap the floor.

Sam stuttered, "Okay?"

And Hermione followed with, "No angst, no drama, no you should have told me stuff?"

Dean nodded and responded, "Oh, I'm ticked. I think I might even be disappointed that you didn't tell me, but I've been happy. Bored, but content. Seeing Ben smile and run around the yard with his favorite Aunt and Uncle while me and Lisa make a lunch for everyone. Just the perfect picture of what happiness and family should be like. It's been a good year. And without you guys, it wouldn't have been that much more amazing."

Hermione fake sniffled and said all choked up, "Dean…...I think you're growing up." He crossed his arms and huffed.

"Stuff it! We still have to explain to Lisa and Ben that the hunting isn't over and there's a, whatcha call it? Mutant Gjin? After me."

Hermione shot up from her seat and ran away shouting, "Nope!" The brothers groaned. What a smart gal. Honestly. Lisa was going to explode.

And they were right. The mother shouted about the ridiculousness of the situation and how Dean had a normal life and was getting sucked back into the life as a hunter. And Dean agreed. He was getting sucked back in. He loved Lisa and Ben. Absolutely loved them. But they all knew it was coming. A year was probably the best outcome. And they were grateful.

After the woman calmed down she agreed to be taken to Bobby's home with her son and Ben was just happy for the adventure. He knew the situation and understanded it, but he knew they would never abandon him. Hermione already promised that she would make sure the boys visited. Now all he had to do was make his mom understand that it's in Dean's blood to hunt. Same as it is for Sam and Hermione. Ben accepted it. Didn't fear it. For he knew Dean would never abandon the family he loves.

Hermione decided that she would go scope the neighborhood after apparating the group to Bobby's. She would go and get the guys after. And so while doing her thing, she spotted a curious van. A woman with dark curled hair was in the passenger seat and a blonde man holding a telescope was in the driver's. Hermione didn't get a friendly vibe from these people. But she looked to where he was pointing the telescope and found three hiding humans. Well, Gjin. You could tell from the arm tats. It's a cool new feature they adapted. The suckers could fit in now.

Hermione grabbed the brothers from Bobby's and they all talked for a moment about what was going on. They decided that Dean was the obvious target and the woman killed that morning was just a snack for them. Dean _did_ gank one of them. So, how do you bait a Gjin? You sit and wait. There's about three of the things and three of them. Now, none of the Gjin know about Hermione being magic so, they're evenly matched in the Gjin's eyes. The problem was the other hunters. The Gjin know that they're there and now feel totally out numbered. So, to get rid of the Gjin, they needed to get rid of the hunters. And that's how the three were standing in a circle, firsts out, and preparing for a very important match of rock paper scissors.

They all chanted evenly, "Rock, paper, scissors, shoot." Sam got paper, Dean also got paper and then Hermione was the idiot sitting there with rock.

She just muttered, "Fuck."

The two high fived and Dean exclaimed, "I finally won a round!"

Hermione smacked him upside the head and stomped out of the home shouting, "If I don't come back, just remember it's your fault." They waved her complaints away and she left to find the intruding hunters.

Turns out. Those hunters were tricky to find. She searched high and low for them, but only did she find them when she looked back towards the house. She decided a direct approach would do. No need to be all sneaky about it. So. She walked straight up to their van and knocked on the side window. The woman in the passenger seat jumped and then rolled down the window.

"Can I help you?" Hermione nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders.

"It depends. If you happen to know the whereabouts of the Gjin then yes. If you're just a bunch of hunters looking to hurt my boys then you can help me by getting out of here and running off a cliff." The woman blinked and tried to say something quick, but nothing happened. It was like she was afraid of her. Then Hermione knew these were the hunters that followed her to the alley and tried to shoot her. Hermione placed her hand on the door and smiled sickly sweet. "You think it's okay to sneak up on people in an alleyway to shoot 'em?" The woman's eyes widened and the man beside her tried to grab his gun. But he found that his hands couldn't seem to move from the steering wheel. She winked at him. "Sticking charm, luv. Don't want a pretty bullet in my brains." Her eyes shifted back to the woman that was slowly getting the courage to stand her ground. "Now last time I checked there were four of you. Where's the rest of the possibilities little lady?"

She smirked. "Behind you." Hermione's eyes widened as her senses finally alerted her to the approaching attackers. However, she was promptly stuck in the neck with a needle and couldn't feel her limbs. Why the hell did she love threatening people so much? Seriously! It got her every time!

Her vision went blank as soon as she spotted her attackers. An elder fellow with a harsh lined face and a bald head. The other man was younger with dark black hair and a built frame.

When she next woke up, she was in the back of the van. She groaned and tried to wash the sedatives off. She hated the drugs with a burning passion. One of the drivers looked back to her in a panic.

"She's waking up already!" Hermione growled and felt something tighten around her neck. It was rough. Scratchy. Rope most likely. It tightened and tightened until she was almost begging for breath. Someone was yelling for more sedative and she felt a double dose

Her parting words were, "You bastards." A collective sigh could be heard throughout the van as the woman slept peacefully once more. The man restraining her with the rope watched as the wounds on her neck healed. He almost swore in amazement.

"What kind of sick concoction is this thing?"

The woman in the passenger seat shrugged. "I haven't a clue. But one thing's for sure. We need to get her to the warehouse and restrain her properly. I don't want to tangle with her." Everyone nodded in agreement and off they drove.


	19. Chapter 19

Let me just start off by saying that this isn't an update and I can already hear the groaning from annoyance. I completely get it. I hate these messages too.

Here's the deal guys. I promised I would never leave a story unfinished, but in the time I've been writing fanfiction, I've deleted three stories and discontinued another. I was honestly planning on continuing this story. I was. I was going to have Hermione be abducted by Crowley and the whole season kind of be melted away to continue everything to the fun leviathans. I was going to have Hermione meet Charlie and give a kick ass speech and become best friends. Which would be the best thing ever since Charlie is a super fan. I was going to have Hermione take on the mark of Cain and stop the darkness from ever being released. I was going to do a whole ton of stuff. I was so excited for this story!

But you know what? I'm a sensitive person okay. I know in life, not everyone is going to be nice or enjoy what I write, but all I ask for is constructive criticism. But no. Reviewers (not all) have picked apart my story, mistake by mistake. You have torn apart my story and made it so I can't even look at it without thinking of very damn mistake. I see it as a failure now, because you couldn't just kindly speak your mind. And that sucks. It really does.

It feels like drawing something you're extremely proud of, but the more you look at it, the more you hate it. And that's what you've done here. Usually I could care less, because I write for the people who truly want to read it. But I can't even get myself to type a single word more. I know I could re-write it, but i honestly don't think it's worth the effort anymore. Because someone else will go along and do the exact same thing.

But I'll leave it up. I will. And I know this'll get hate too, but I'm done. Alright. Sorry. I'm glad most of you have really loved and appreciated the story despite all the apparent mistakes and failures.

And I _will_ continue to write stories. I have at least four in the makings and two one-shots to post. And I know the same exact thing will probably happen because nobody has a fucking filter these days, but I'll try better to ignore 'em.

Thanks!


	20. Chapter 20

**Alright folks. I've found my love of writing again and I've decided that I don't give a shit what any of the haters say. Because there will always be at least one person that looks forward to my stories. So, I've decided to re-write a Stain in Time. I've had some more practice writing and I still love this idea. So, I want to make it better! Well, I hope. Anyways, I have more stories in progress. I've fallen in love with Anime and OC's. OC's aren't a very popular read, but I think I've done an okay job with Black Butler, Attack on Titan, and Soul Eater! I hope some of you will tune in for those. Enough of my rambling. The story replacing A Stain in Time is titled Broken. I hope I can live up to the high standards of fanfiction readers (Seriously guys. You are all five star critics - not a bad thing). Well then! The first chapter will be uploaded soon and I hope to get some great ideas from you amazing people!**

 **~Comic Critic**


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